10 - Advanced Gaming

(first)

"Who are you?" The girl next to Lelouch.

I point my gun at the new arrivals. ...Not with my finger on the trigger, though. I don't need any unnecessary trouble, and one of them's in no state to fight. "...What is this?"

"Didn't you hear her? She asked who you were!" Lelouch rolls her eyes.

"I don't recognize them either." Redhead guy. "Hi! I'm Ariel May!" Ariel May.

"God, f-" Okay. So much for anonymity. "I'm here for something important. Don't get in my way." I nervously turn to look all around me quickly. This is... a bad situation.

"Do I spray them, Ms Lelouch?" Green hair girl.

"I would not try anything if I were you." I put my finger on the trigger. I don't want to get attacked, even if they seem to not be as well armed. I need to be able bodied.

"They could be dangerous if we get to close." She gestures to the gun.

((As in rest it on the trigger. I didn't just fucking shoot her))

The red haired guy grabs a kitchen knife defensively.

"What're you doing here, anyway?" Lelouch asks, steadying her ground as she leans on the green-haired girl.

"We're the ones with the gun. You tell us your plan first." Red haired guy.

((okay i needed to double check what dana is aware of to not break things glad i checked)) I frown. "Lelouch...?" Weird name. I think I've heard it before...

"I'm not telling anything!" Lelouch is standing her ground.

The cop takes out the gun that he’s had the whole time and aims it at Dana.

"I'm here to confront someone hiding out in this area of the building. It's night by now, isn't it? You all shouldn't be here." I smirk at the cop. "Just try me. I'm confident in my abilities." No, I'm not. ((Dana is sweating.))

"...Well, we're here to do the same." Lelouch clears her throat. "Plus, this is more important than sleep." (edited)

"Then go away and let us handle it." Red haired guy. "Not a chance!" Green haired girl.

Ugh. "You..." Shit. I couldn't give a damn about a quirky group of young women here for no good reason. But that cop... not only is he armed, but his presence, the presence of the police, could mean... "His name's Jeff." I deem this acceptable information to release. I'm not confident what my plan is to get out of this... but I'll figure it out.

5:36 PM

((Favorite line.))

"Yeah, we realized. Ms Lelouch is smart like that." Green haired girl.

"Then are you here for him? ...Or me? ......Or I guess one of these other guys here." I force the issue.

"Well, since you're a woman, I think it's safe to tell you that we're only here for Johnner."

"What? Y... have you never seen him in person?" I lower my guard a little. Bad move, but I can't help it. I still have the gun out. "No one right here right now is him, to be clear."

"We know." Green haired girl.

"Yeah, I guess he doesn't have the right vibes for it." I glance over at the red haired man.

5:41 PM

What the fuck am I saying? Man.

"Wait… Lelouch. Knows Johnner… Are you Lelouch Maoziwam? Gus's sort-of kid?" Red haired guy.

"Maoziwam?" I re-raise my guard.

"I've seen him in person. He's a dick." She nods, thinking to herself, before snapping back to the conversation. "I'm not answering any questions regarding Gus, I've had enough of that man today. Even beyond the grave he can't do anything but be a nuisance." She grumbles.

"Mm..." This is bizarre. It's like someone who has existed just barely on the periphery of everything I've been involved in prior to now, but never knew of.

5:45 PM

"It should have been obvious regardless of my sex, then. Nobody here looks like Johnner."

"I wasn’t the biggest fan of Gus, but I owe him some favours. Don’t make us hurt you." Gordon. "Stop judging her based solely off whatever awful man you know! She’s so much greater!" Green haired girl.

5:46 PM

((Gordon is the red haired guy. This doesn’t matter I just accidentally said his name))

"Aren't you like... aligned with the woman who basically killed him?" I glance again at Gordon (that's his name).

"Why would a favour to Gus make you hurt me? I've been told I was practically a daughter to him, not that I reciprocated the feelings." She sighs. "And Carolyn's innocent! We proved that." Lelouch says, smugly.

(His name is Gordon.)

(i think his name is gordon)

"Yeah! She did!" Green haired girl.

"Oh, you know of her. Good, that makes things quicker. She's scum. A serial killer. She murdered my friend, more or less confessed to it. She broke the mind of my... of someone close to me. If you want to de-escalate this standoff, speaking in her favor isn't the way to do it. Even Gordon had the sense to not go there." I say his name, which is Gordon.

Ariel and the other girl with Lelouch continue to silently exist. They didn’t go anywhere or anything.

Thank you, Ariel.

Thank you, blank.

5:53 PM

"Fine, but only because it's you who's saying that. Anyways," she turns, "Jade, if this is Johnner's hideout, where is he?" She asks the green-haired girl. (edited)

????

5:54 PM

((To be clear is this a dead end is there more door to go)) "...You don't even know?"

Jade points at a door behind Dana.

"Yes." I pretend to have known that myself.

5:56 PM

"I'm... going to head in now. I can't keep treating you as enemies as well as him without dividing my attention too much and getting capped. But if I'm double-crossed... even death won't stop you from suffering for it." That's such a killer line, damn. I'm nailing this.

"Ah. I'd never dopuble-cross a lady!" Lelouch s.

5:57 PM

"Do you want to head in Jade?" She asks her bestie.

Jade nods and pulls out a bottle of perfume.

I think I hate this girl. I check my allies are still present, and head forward to the boss. I notice the perfume thing and I don't comment on it because that's stupid. But I register it.

As soon as Dana turns her back to her, Jade sprays her with it.

"Y--" I cough. I... "The, f..." Johnner. Johnner. Is the door still closed? I can't... if he... my approach, it... I glare at Lelouch. "You little bitch." I understand all too well. Jade... this girl addressed her beforehand. It must have been some kind of code to attack me. They said 'spray' earlier, right? So this was her idea of a weapon. I know her type. It would be... a waste to focus on Jade. She's hapless... pitiable, even. Someone so overtaken by... God, I don't even know what. What does she see in... it's just, it numbs the mind. Makes people behave irrationally. That cloying, 'Ms Lelouch' stuff... this is... I start to laugh. But in a cool, calm way. I don't sound like a lunatic right now. "You think you're clever? That you can take advantage of the others around you, just in case, hide behind them, avoid being in the line of fire yourself...? It suits a rich brat. I'm sorry, but whatever that was supposed to do didn't work, Maoziwam. I'm right here, and I'm still going to continue with my mission. So whatever there is between you, go ahead and tell Blythe, that... no, maybe it really is a coincidence." Wait, I'm losing track. Are Johnner and Blythe on the same side? I mean, Gordon double crossed the former, and circumstantial evidence makes it seem like he's aligned with Carolyn. So is this just another one of the people doing that kind of a maneuver? How does Maoziwam fit into this? Shuichi, I mean? I don't... I can't remember any mob connections with him, but it could be the case. He's the most likely culprit behind everything in general, at least. That doesn't necessitate anything for this situation, though. I suppose it's something to spend more time on later. Damn. Did they like, turn the AC off since the place is closed? It's suddenly way fucking hotter. Do malls close? They do, right? Not a 24/7 convenience store deal. I weigh my gun in my hand. ((I'm not fucking done typing but you can react to this if you want thats only fair))

6:24 PM

The weight of a life, the weight of the world... I wax poetically in my own mind. Kind of crazy how much my life has escalated as of recently. I know what I said, but... can this even count...? It's not like I can kill anyone. That'd break her heart. --All of them. Like, fuck up the psyches of those who remain, I mean. I'm a dick, not a monster. Chick's already injured, anyway. It'd be redundant. "You're lucky my standards for what betrayal is are high. But if you fuck with me again, even a prank, in stakes this high-- just, just don't, alright?" I finish addressing Lelouch and turn around to what actually matters, that being the mafia plot. I really shouldn't--I don't want to pay attention to anything else. Oh, I do look at Ariel, y'know, practical reason to do so. Confirm she's here, and, I mean, obviously I'd want to look at her, right?! Shut the fuck up! I open the fucking door. Someone is going to have to hold me back physically to stop me from forward progress.

"Listen to everything Ms Lelouch says." Jade says this to Dana and then sprays Ariel. Gordon backs away and holds up the knife threateningly. "What the hell was that?" (edited)

"Jade- Stop spraying people! At least spray the untrustworthy guy." Lelouch rolls her eyes. She, too, makes sure her people are still there. Girl and Cop.

They are indeed still there.

"I don't understand why..." I feel sick. God, why am I... I was ready to do this, right? Maybe it was a dumb or rash decision, but I had to! For.... I don't, I mean... it's self-preservation. Why am I faltering now? Because of some-- a minor interruption? I acknowledge Jade's remark. "I don't plan on antagonizing your group. We obviously share a common goal here. I just..." Fuck. God fucking dammit. I get it now, yeah, haha, I totally empathize with your suicide cult, Blythe! No need to continue struggling through discomfort anymore when you're fucking DEAD. Roll credits! That's all, folks! I'm joking. I don't want to die. I don't want to fucking die. But why can't I live either? Why can't I ever be happy with anything I attain? Jesus CHRIST, how do you think this is the time to think of that?! Kind of in the middle of something! Wait, did I stop...? Fucking [r slur internally thought], I'm going! It's now or never! I'm not gonna become less fucking inept if I wait! I OPEN THE DOOR.

"I’m trying! You, by the door. Point your gun at Gordon. If he refuses to be sprayed again, shoot him." Jade says this.

6:33 PM

The door is open at this point. It’s a living room with a bunch of doors in different directions.

Lelouch observes. Is the spray really not working, or does Dana (I don't know if I know her name ic) just have good will power?

((You do not know her name))

((I didn't think so. Unlike Gordon.))

I casually point my gun at Gordon. Obviously I don't intend to shoot my ally, but this is a problem. "We need to move. He's probably aware of our approach by now, and if he gets away, we won't get another chance. If these jokers are trying to perform guerilla marketing, indulge them so we can move on." God, this is so stupid. I can't believe I'm saying this, I wish I didn't have to, but they've got firepower too, and we can't move on until they let us. This fucking bitch. What, is she trying her own business venture? Wanna be independent from daddy, but not so much that you stop relying on his aid?! ((Dana does not know anything about the financial situation of Lelouch Maoziwam.)) I hate this. He's probably gone already. Maybe he was never here. All I'm doing is fucking things up, ugh. ((Top ten best characters dana craig invents in her head. #1: Florent L'Louch))

"Jesus Christ." Gordon drops the knife and gets sprayed. "All of you state your full names and phone numbers." Jade. "I’m Ariel May." Ariel May shares her phone number. (edited)

"Dana Craig. [Dana's phone number]. No point in hiding it when my girlfriend already spilled. Do you need to communicate with me...?" What is happening?! Why is she... I mean, okay, I won't look a gift horse...

"Jade's always so productive. It's why I love her!" Lelouch casually says this to the other girl beside her.

"Gordon Joapajann." Gordon says his phone number. "Maria Stanley." Maria Stanley says her phone number. The cop says nothing, intuitively understanding that he wasn’t being asked.

"Stanley as a last name..." I mutter, possibly audibly to the others or possibly not. I half want to attempt to see if I can resolve one of the earliest points of confusion from this unusual adventure. But there's more important things. "There's still more fucking doors. Where do we go, Gordon?!" I guess... does Jade -- I think that was her name -- she, also knows. But I wouldn't feel comfortable interrogating her on it.

"It’s through this door." Gordon walks through the door Dana opened and everyone follows. (edited)

Yeah. Right. I fiddle with the gun. I follow him. Progress.

Jade points at a door in the living room. "That’s where they were keeping me earlier." She leads everyone to it and opens it.

Okay, well, I'm still heading towards what seems to be the place to go, which is that.

Lelouch trusts Jade, so she follows her.

The room mostly looks like a storage room. In the middle are 2 strange prison cells containing Harriet Kadin and ???. ((End session because they already left))

(SLEEP!)

The 2 awaken in separate small cages in the center of what looks like a storage room. ??? recognizes this room. Harriet can't stand anymore though.

"Get over here."

"I'm in a cage and my legs don't work."

"Crawl."

"They're seperate cages." Harriet says fiercely, then nearly blinds herself with the force of her hand smacking against her face. Fuck. She thought she was over that.

"Crawl through!!"

"What's wrong with you?" Harriet says, and nearly gives herself a black eye in the process. "Go kill yourself or something, I can't handle this right now -"

"Kill... myself? What?" (edited)

3:55 PM

"Why are you punching yourself?"

"It's sort of a recurring problem."

"I saw that."

4:00 PM

"What are you going to do about the cage, then?" (edited)

4:00 PM

"Just sleep here forever like a baby?"

"Wait to wake up," Harriet says stubbornly. "I always do. In the end I always wake up."

"You're not sleeping."

"I wasn't sleeping before, either, when I met with you." Harriet says. "I still woke up."

((Gotta go))

Several people walk in, including Dana Craig, Ariel May, and Lelouch Maoziwam. ((End session))

Hu….h…? I look around the room frantically. Yes, I’m fucking frantic now, fine! There was… supposed to… Hey, wait, this is the room from… My eyes stop on him. That fucking guy!!! “YOU!” I point my gun at him. This disgusting, amnesiac, walking dead to rights—Why… after all this time…. No, no, if he’s locked up, I should… I, it’s… The one at fault, I mean, logically, I’m, I should be asking, towards… I turn around quickly, pointing my gun at the red-haired man. “GORDOOOOON! What the FUCK IS THIS?! YOU SAID HE WAS HERE AND ALONE, DIDN’T YOU?! DID YOU THINK YOU COULD CHEAT ME? IS THAT THE KIND OF SAP YOU TAKE ME FOR?”

"Gordon!? What? Where??"

The green haired girl looks at ??? and then back to Dana. "Wait, you know him too?" Gordon raises his hands in the air defensively. "He's in a cage, and probably lost his memory again. I didn't think it counted."

“That’s not what I asked!” I continue aiming at him.

Harriet Kadin has no idea what the fuck is going on. No one ever tells her anything.

Lelouch lelouches next to green-haired girl.

"Hi!" Ariel May says hi to Harriet.

"Uh, hi?" Harriet says. "Who are you? What's happening? You're very pink."

“Shut the fuck up, Ariel! I’m—there’s only one fucking reason I came here, why is he not here? How was your intelligence inept enough to misplace—misidentify, the, to…” I’m fucking

"Why am I in a cage." Harriet says flatly.

"We've only checked one room. Nothing confirms he's not here." Gordon says this and then turns to Harriet. "A friend of yours threw a grenade at Johnner's face. He didn't take it well."

Harriet frowns. "I see there's some kind of, um, hugely emotional dramatic thing happening here - related to your, uh, various personal neuroses - but I honestly don't think I need to be here right now. This doesn't - involve me, I want to be - seperate from whatever deranged bullshit is happening right now, cleanly severed - fuck."

Right. Right, of course. There’s more places. I knew this. Just wanted to see if I could catch him off guard. “This is the kind of thing—If you know there’s other people, then you mention it…!” I look at the woman I don’t know. “What are you fucking talking about?”

"Ms Lelouch? Should I spray her?" Green haired girl.

"Uh- Absolutely!" Lelouch's guard is up up up.

“Why, with the perfume…” I sigh at this irrelevant detail.

"Look.... I didn't think you'd run into him. He's basically just a child inside. I don't like him, but don'rt hurt him." Gordon. Jade sprays Harriet with perfume.

"Way to go Jade!" Lelouch cheers on for a task that doesn't really deserve it.

“You—what do you mean, ‘personal neuroses’?! Are you looking down on me?!” Eyes wide open, I ignore Gordon for now and stare at the new woman. I’m—I’m only perturbed, because…. I just, it’s trying to stop her from… um… Dana Craig stares at the person in question with eyes that look on the verge of tears, devotedly playing the part of rage. She’s running on fumes right now, and she knows it. But acknowledging this beyond the bare minimum would topple an entire house of cards.

I stare around at everyone in here. "You..." I look at the girl spouting nonsense. "Is your name Dana?"

“Shut the fuck up, Jay! I have bigger fish to fry!”

Harriet squints up at the strange woman standing above her. "Sorry - I wasn't looking down on you. I'm not really allowed to do that anymore, which is a stupid thing to hear and an even stupider thing to try and explain, but - you have a gun. And I - I can help, somehow. This situation is - salvageable, right?" Harriet's breathing is heavy. "I can rectify it. I'm really, really good at defusing tension."

"Fish... fish? Do you know Hav Kerloe?"

"And I'm not dangerous, either. If you let me out of the cage I'll just be prime meat, see? My legs don't work. I can be the whipping girl."

“What the fuck are you talking about? Don’t get me involved in—-euuuurgh! You fucking pervert!” I don’t even know. E-Everyone’s an enemy. I look everywhere. Shit.

"Hav? How the hell do you remember his name?" Gordon.

"I don't want to talk to you, you traitor!" (edited)

Harriet frowns. "It's not a sex thing. Anymore. From this point on it's not a weird sex thing, not that it ever was - fuck. I'm - looking in other directions, right now." She shifts her eyes up to Jade.

Jade tries to open Harriet's cage and fails. "There's a key, it's probably around here somewhere. You 3, go look for it in this room."

"Don't worry, faithful maiden. We'll find a way to get you out!" Lelouch seems more focused on the fact that Harriet's in a cage than whatever the fuck's going on with Dana and ???.

“What? Huh? I….” I mean, ‘you three’ could refer to any combination of people. Probably not me. I don’t understand why I’d— this isn’t a rescue mission. Who even is this? I continue to stand here worthlessly.

Ariel and Gordon look around the room.

"Hey- Jade told you to search for a key, so search for a key!" Lelouch says this to Dana.

"Did you put me in this cage, Gordon?"

"Well, I didn't oppose it." Gordon.

“GGGEEAGH!” I hold my head. “I hate you! I fucking hate you!” I back up into some corner of the room to incidentally see if I can spot a key there.

((Roll))

((8))

Dana finds nothing. "I found her wheelchair." Gordon brings back a wheelchair. "Dana, look over here!" Ariel calls out to her. She's standing in front of some kind of desk.

Lelouch does not attempt to search for a key, instead looking at the woman in the cage. "So, what's your name?" (edited)

“Huh?” I look over to Ariel.

"Harriet," Harriet says, bulwarked by the attention. "And yours?"

Ariel lifts up a paintbrush. "There's some other stuff in here, too."

"Lelouch. Lelouch Maoziwam!" She says the first name with more emphasis than the surname. "Who locked you in this cage? Was it a guy? Guys will do that, they're pigs." (edited)

“Oh, shit.” I stare at the paintbrush. “That means… mm.”

2:26 PM

((Who the fuck is Lelouch Moawizam))

I lay down on the ground and pout.

(FYUCK()

2:27 PM

(you saw nothing)

Jade looks walks over to the desk and grabs a few things. "It might be the wrong key, but it's the only one here." She walks over to Harriet's cage and presses it against the lock. It very clearly doesn't fit, and yet the door magically swings open unlocked.

“Shut the fuck up about your stupid fake-ass straw feminism! You’re—I mean, I guess I should be happy, right?! If you’re just like this, and didn’t immediately look at me and take—and classify me as how much of a fucking woman I am, how easily, you think you can…” I don’t think any of that formed into a full sentence.

Harriet crawls out of the cage and attempts to speak to Lelouch. She chooses her words very, very carefully. "I, on occasion, have interpersonal.. issues with the male sex. I.... have my own, individual reasons for thinking this way, which aren't symptomatic of any greater.. social phenomena. That's the way I decide, of my own volition, to think about it."

2:30 PM

Harriet stares expectantly at her fist. Nothing happens.

Gordon gives Harriet the wheelchair.

I look up and look at Jade. "Hey! Unlock my door!"

“Please don’t.” I’m pleading. There is no malice or spite.

"I need it."

"Do I?" Jade asks Lelouch.

"If I don't get out of the cage, I will starve to death."

"Why should you?"

Harriet crawls into her wheelchair. "I am above vindictive cruelty," she says to herself, smiling blankly.

Ok, I hate her too. Good.

"Well, that's resolved then. We should try to go find Johnner in some other room." Jade.

((statement adn reaction panel))

"What??"

“Yeah, good idea. Everything else is secondary.” I’m glad someone here is reasonable.

"I mean, you tried to kill me, so why should I? Karma's a bastard, or whatever." She shrugs to ???, before turning to her gf. "Do you know where else he could be, Jade?"

Jade walks back into the living area. All of the other NPCs follow her.

Living…area?

2:35 PM

I mean, I head that way, if there’s nothing better to do.

The room right outside here.

Harriet wheels herself there obediently.

"Tried to kill you? When!?"

I ignore the unpleasant memory.

"I should probably follow her. The last time I took my eyes off her, Johnner had one of his men knock her and another woman out to kidnap me, the dickhead."

((Channel split.))

"…Oh." Howard turns around with a cocky smile. "Did I forget to mention?"

“You knew him?”

"He was my partner, 9 years ago. Shame how these things go, y’know?" Howard leans back against the desk. He seems strangely calm. "9 years ago…?" Kite.

“What happened to you guys?”

Howard smirks. "That case. The Edlightenment mass murder. You can fight the system all you want, but it always gets what it wants. Results. The big guy. Even if it’s not true. The only thing you’re gonna be left with is a firing." "But… You’re still a cop." Kite. Howard continues smirking.

"I thought Gus was working with the Edlightment. Wasn't he with Blythe?"

"…Yeah. That’s the funny part. All his fuming about arresting the kid, but the second he’s out of a job he goes running right to the mafia. Because morals only matter to people so long as you can profit of 'em. I just happened to be more honest about that." Howard gets punched in the face by Kite.

Shawn doesn't react

"You mean… The one who covered up the truth and let that killer run free all those years… That was you?" Kite. "Heh… I guess I deserve that. Honestly, I’m surprised you hadn’t heard… If I hadn’t faked the charge, I wouldn’t be any kind of celebrity here. It’s all a game of res-" Howard gets punched again.

“Why… Why would you do that? Is it just about the fame here?”

"…What else? Like I keep telling you, we’re all selfish deep down. We all want to feel good about ourselves, to feel like we’ve accomplished something in our lives. No one gives a shit either way about anyone but themselves." Kite hits him again. "But let’s say I had been the selfless hero type. Are you 2 just idiots? You really think that demon was the worst one there? She did what she was raised to do. She’s a brat, like you, just taught to think otherwise. In her eyes, she’s the hero. The villain would be the guy who taught her otherwise. The man who knew better than a bunch of stupid kids and still did all that. Because he understood the truth. A self-aware selfish prick… Much more my type, I’d say." Howard.

“Are you really that selfish?”

"Everyone is. That's what I keep telling you. There are no villains, or heroes. Just those who are honest... And those lost in their own delusions." Howard. Kite punches him again. "I'm a hero! I help people!" "Yeah, for you! You only help people when it lets you pretend you're so high and mighty! If it didn't serve your interests, you'd let anyone suffer just like any other person would!" Howard.

Shawn stays silent

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Kite keeps punching him. "Ha! You think you can just punch the truth away? You child!" Howard finally gets punched to the ground. Kite uses this opportunity to get on him and keep punching him.

"If you're willing to live that way, you better understand that this is justified."

4:05 PM

Shawn doesn't move to help him

Eventually, Howard is barely conscious and unable to move. Kite gets off him. "What are waiting for…? Come on, kill me. I’m the guy who let your parent’s killer run free… Finish the job." Howard. Kite raises up the crowbar, ready to swing it down. "Feels like either way, no matter I do here… I’m gonna wind up regretting it forever. So I’m gonna trust my bro here to think for me."

Shawn looks at Howard. His emotions are unscrutable, his plastic face darkens Howard was someone Shawn cared quite a bit for. An authority figure who stood by him, respected his decisions and his power. In turn, Shawn respected him. How much was that worth, though? At the end of the day, how different was Howard from every other piece of criminal trash on the streets. If anything, his lack of any moral convictions beyond helping himself put him below even the White Suits and Maoziwam. And the fact that he lead to Kite's family dying... Shawn speaks out to Howard. "The difference between you and us is that we're trying. I can't ever know how far we'll get, or if we're doing the right thing, but I can know that I'll get infinitely closer to doing good then you ever will." Shawn turns to Kite "If you're going to kill him, do it for justice, not for revenge."

Kite doesn’t do anything. "…" "What… Are you gonna make me beg?" Howard.

“Go for it, Kite. If you want to do it , do it. Even he agrees it’ll be justice.”

2:06 PM

“But don’t do it if you’re going to regret it.”

"…I don’t wanna give him what he wants." Kite. "…Always something, isn’t there? Can’t a man die in peace in this day and age…?" Howard lets out what sounds vaguely like a laugh. "…Not you." Kite kicks Howard, knocking him unconscious.

“Why does it matter what he wants? He’s criminal scum.”

2:08 PM

“What do you want?”

"That’s the problem, though. You remember that Edlightenment thing? Where like… When you die, you get left in that state forever?" Kite turns to Shawn. "…Maybe that’d be a fitting punishment for him. But if it’s not true, then death's just freedom to him. He gets to get away without any consequences and we’re the ones left suffering. We’re heroes… So I think we oughta make him suffer in a way that’ll last, y’know?" Kite crouches down and searches through Howard’s pockets. "…Or maybe I’m just a coward. I dunno. We’ll find out, I guess."

"Hm..."

2:13 PM

"That's a valid perspective, I think."

2:15 PM

"I kinda see it as the opposite, though. When you die, who you are gets cemented forever. You can't take any more actions, you can't control the way anyone sees you. I think death is the prison, not life. We're free to do whatever we want now, take whatever actions we want, but we lose that when we die."

2:15 PM

"Still. Killing him now probably won't be a good idea."

Kite pulls out handcuffs, and cuffs Howard. Then, he tosses the keys to Shawn. "Anyway, we should focus on Johnner now. Can’t let him slip away or something."

"You sure?"

2:16 PM

Shawn turns to Howard "Wouldn't that just be doing what he wants?"

"…Well, he was on our side right now wasn’t he? If he hadn’t let that slip, we’d probably never have fought." Kite.

"Probably."

2:19 PM

Shawn takes out his new earpiece "We should leave these here, probably."

"Nah, we’ll need them." Kite bites his lip and slowly stands up. "We can’t both go."

"Why not?"

"One of us needs to push the button, don't we? We don't know what it does but he said it was important!" Kite points at the computer.

"What?"

2:24 PM

"Why does that matter?"

"We don't know! That's the problem, bro!"

"Why is that a problem."

"Because it could be important! We need to complete the plan! And that means you stay here and play the guy in the chair just this once!"

"I don't know what these buttons do either!"

"Just press it when I've got the name, easy!"

"I don't want to stay behind man. Every time we split apart we get our asses kicked."

"We can still talk on the earpieces! Just... Trust me to do this one thing, bro! Let me be the hero once!"

“I trust you!! But we’re a team. You were in the hospital just this morning because you attacked somewhere alone. That place is way way less fortified then the one ur going to now”

2:38 PM

“We need to do this together.”

"Not... If you give me your suit. Just this one time."

“Kite…”

"Bro, please!"

“I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”

2:40 PM

“This suit is… it’s who I am.”

"Yes you can! The only reason you even have it is 'cause I gave it to you! You live your normal life with it off! Just lend it to me for 1 time and I'll never ask again!"

"..."

2:43 PM

"Kite... You understand how big of an ask that is for me, right?"

2:45 PM

"You're asking me to give you my only protection, in a police station, right next to the unconcious body of a guy we beat up..."

2:45 PM

"So that you can be the ultimate hero and i can just... sit here and press buttons?"

2:45 PM

"Why would I even do that? We don't know anything about what these buttons do."

"You can have his gun... Plus, it's not like they know it's just the suit. For all they know you're still untouchable and you'll have a hostage. Just... Let me do this!"

"Hostage?"

"Him!" Kite points at Howard.

"This... That's so dangerous."

"We're heroes! Danger's the point of the job!"

"Kite, I... I don't want this. I don't want you to leave again. I don't want to worry about you again."

2:49 PM

"I've lost you enough times already."

"You can hear everything that's happening! We'll basically still be together!"

"But if something happens to you, I won't be able to do anything about it?"

2:50 PM

"What if they have like... a super-power neutralizer gun or something? And you get captured? Then I'll just be alone again, and totally powerless!"

"C'mon, they won't have that! And even if they did, you'd be screwed too! At least you're safe outside and you can come save me!"

"I'd... I'd rather be screwed by your side then being forced to watch you get fucked over."

2:51 PM

"How would I save you?"

"That's for you to figure out!"

"Kite, I... I've made this suit part of who I am. I... I don't know what I am without it. It's been my answer to every question to everything."

2:57 PM

"The thought of being without it... Of making myself vunerable like that... That's terrifying." (edited)

"Can't you at least do it for me, bro?"

"..."

3:01 PM

"I'm scared to."

"You're a hero, aren't you? Heroes can't get scared!"

3:02 PM

"It's at times like these when everything looks dark that you've gotta say 'bring it on'!"

"Am I a hero without this suit?"

3:02 PM

"What seperates me from every other civilian?"

"What separates you... Is that you're my bro."

"..."

3:05 PM

"I don't know about this, man. This is terrifying."

Kite hugged Shawn. "Just... Let me have this one, okay?"

"Kite... You..."

3:07 PM

"How do I..." Shawn is kinda crying now "How do I know I can trust you to bring it back?"

3:07 PM

"You kicked me out of a car..."

"Because... I can't live without you, bro."

"I can't either!!"

3:09 PM

"Which is why I'm terrified of letting you go without me."

3:10 PM

"What am I going to do if you... If I get left behind?"

"Are we really bros if you can't even trust me for 1 mission?"

"It's not that, it's..."

3:16 PM

"Can I tell you something?"

"…Yeah."

"Earlier today. In the cab."

3:17 PM

"When you kissed her..."

"…You’re still mad?"

"I thought something I hadn't thought before. Not this whole time, and not really since, but... It's stuck with me."

3:19 PM

"I thought I don't know this person"

3:20 PM

"I thought that... That after all this, that after everything I'd been thought with you... That I just... that we just aren't on the same wavelength."

3:21 PM

"I don't think thats true. I think I know you. I think I only thought that in a moment of irrationality because of how upset I was."

3:21 PM

"But..."

3:21 PM

"I just want assurence. I just... I just want to know that this isn't going to end with me being hurt. I want to be able to trust you with my life."

3:21 PM

"With part of me." He indicates towards the suit

"…I love you, bro. I’m not gonna hurt you ever again."

"I love you too."

3:23 PM

"Can you promise me that?"

3:23 PM

"That... that you'll come back?"

3:23 PM

"Youll give my suit back?"

"I promise. I’ll come back for you, no matter what."

Shawn grabs Kite's hands

3:24 PM

"You have to promise me. And you cannot go back on it. Not in the slightest."

3:24 PM

"Promise me that you'll come back. That no matter what happens there, your top priority is going to be coming back to me."

"I promise, okay? Stop worrying, bro."

"And you'll never leave me again. You'll listen to me and... and you'll stay with me."

3:25 PM

"Please, man." "Promise me that I won't lose you." (edited)

"I promise!"

"You can't go back on it. Okay?"

3:27 PM

"Don't even think about it."

"I won’t. I’m a hero, after all."

"I don't want your promise as a hero."

3:27 PM

"I want your promise as someone I love."

3:28 PM

"As Kite, the person."

"But… Kite is the hero."

"Its a metaphor."

"…Fine, okay?"

"What I'm saying is... Your obligation here is not out of your desire for heroism or anything. It's because... you love me, right?"

3:29 PM

"That's what you're staking here."

"…Yeah."

"Okay. I'm... I'm going to trust you."

Kite takes off his suit.

Shawn takes off his suit.

Kite hands his suit to Shawn.

Shawn hands his to Kite "Take good care of it. Give it back to me please. I don't... I don't know what I'd do without it."

Kite puts it on and smirks. "See you soon, bro."

"Stay safe. Please."

3:36 PM

Shawn puts Kites suit on and gags at the smell of it.

Kite leaves.

Oh god.

3:37 PM

What have I gotten myself into now? What... What am I going to do if he doesn't give it back? If he doesn't come back with it?

3:37 PM

I can't just... I can't just go back to living a normal life

3:37 PM

Mats Rumen is dead. It's too late for that

I take my shirt and tie a blindfold around Howard's eyes (edited)

3:52 PM

He wont see me if he wakes up (edited)

3:52 PM

I can't believe this...

3:52 PM

Thsi is... This is too much.

3:52 PM

How am I supposed to...

3:52 PM

What am I supposed to...

3:53 PM

The guys from Masquerade V never lost their powers.

3:53 PM

They kept theirs the whole time. It was built into their soul.

3:53 PM

I thought of mine like that

3:54 PM

I guess I just gave my soul away, didn't I? To... to him

3:54 PM

I love Kite. I love him a lot.

3:54 PM

I...

3:54 PM

I feel distant from him still. Even though we're closer then ever

3:54 PM

I don't think he's given up on those dreams of his.

3:54 PM

I'm scared

3:54 PM

I'm scared

3:55 PM

I wish I didn't have to rely on just myself. I wish I could trust Kite without having to second guess everything

3:55 PM

I'm awful, aren't I?

3:56 PM

Just... a terrible person.

3:56 PM

I don't even know why I'm feeling that way. It's instinctual maybe.

3:56 PM

I have so much emotion in me that I can't direct anywhere, so I need to aim it at myself

3:57 PM

It doesn't make me less scared.

4:01 PM

Ugh

"I’m here." Kite says this through the earpiece.

"What's it look like?"

4:04 PM

Shawn checks the button to see if theres any indication of what it does

"A mall? It’s closed already, but that’s no problem for me." Kite. There’s a label that says ‘One time use. Do not touch'.

4:06 PM

Shawn can hear the sound of Kite breaking something.

"Get out of there fast once you get in, okay?"

4:06 PM

"Don't delay."

4:06 PM

Did he set a bomb in our ears or something?

"Yeah, yeah." Kite groans. "…Kite?" Kingsley's voice speaks from near Kite. "Uhh…" Kite.

"Is that Kingsley?"

"…Yeah. Howard sent us. So you can get out of here." Kite. "Oh… Okay." Kingsley mumbles. "That guy’s weirdly easy to push around." Kite.

Shawn switched to the microphone Scott was using (edited)

"Looks normal so far… Huh. Never mind." Kite. "They’ve got a whole living space hidden back here."

“Why is Kingsley there?”

4:13 PM

“I thought this was supposed to be our operation.”

"I dunno. Guess he was keeping watch?" Kite suddenly starts whispering. "Can you hear me if I whisper?"

“Yeah”

"I hear voices, so I’m gonna get closer and listen to them spill their secrets."

“Okay. Be careful.”

"…!" Kite gasps.

"What?"

4:19 PM

"What is it?"

"…They’re here. Lelouch, Jade, Maria, even that guy with the bandages we saved last week. Plus even more guys I don’t recognize somehow. It’s a whole gathering." It’s at this moment that Shawn realizes the perfume has worn off. ((End session))

((yesssss))

finish readign!!!

((Use parentheses…))

“YOU! GORDOOOOON! What the FUCK IS THIS?! YOU SAID HE WAS HERE AND ALONE, DIDN’T YOU?! DID YOU THINK YOU COULD CHEAT ME? IS THAT THE KIND OF SAP YOU TAKE ME FOR?” Dana. "Gordon!? What? Where??" ???. "Wait, you know him too?" Jade. "He's in a cage, and probably lost his memory again. I didn't think it counted." An unfamiliar male voice.

2:04 PM

"Hi!" Ariel.

2:05 PM

"Uh, hi?" Harriet says. "Who are you? What's happening? You're very pink."

"What the hell is going on over there, Kite?"

“Shut the fuck up, Ariel! I’m—there’s only one fucking reason I came here, why is he not here? How was your intelligence inept enough to misplace—misidentify, the, to…” Dana. "I dunno." Kite whispers.

Shawn reels over onto the table

2:06 PM

Fuck. fuck.

2:06 PM

Shawn knew about the spray. He was aware of what it did

2:07 PM

But

2:07 PM

He couldnt have prepared himself for the wave of guilt that hit him as soon as it ended

2:07 PM

Oh god. He had said such horrible things to Kite

"Why am I in a cage." Harriet says flatly. "We've only checked one room. Nothing confirms he's not here." Same unfamiliar male voice again. "A friend of yours threw a grenade at Johnner's face. He didn't take it well."

Focus. He needs to focus

2:08 PM

What the fuck is he supposed to do from here?

2:08 PM

Ariel. He knows that name

Harriet. "I see there's some kind of, um, hugely emotional dramatic thing happening here - related to your, uh, various personal neuroses - but I honestly don't think I need to be here right now. This doesn't - involve me, I want to be - seperate from whatever deranged bullshit is happening right now, cleanly severed - fuck." "Ms Lelouch? Should I spray her?" Jade.

Shit

“This is the kind of thing—If you know there’s other people, then you mention it…!” Dana. “What are you fucking talking about?”

"Kite, that girl with the pink hair is Ariel May. She was at the police station earlier today with Howard. I think she has some connection with the mob."

2:10 PM

Shawn gets on the police computer and quickly searches Ariel May

"Uh- Absolutely!" Lelouch. “Why, with the perfume…” Dana sighs. "Look.... I didn't think you'd run into him. He's basically just a child inside. I don't like him, but don't hurt him." Male voice. (edited)

"Kite, don't let her spray anyone!"

2:11 PM

"Or... I don't know. We don't know these people, right?"

2:11 PM

"Don't get sprayed! Prioritze that."

2:12 PM

“Avoid speaking loudly. If you’re wearing my suit, Lelouch will think you’re me.”

"Way to go Jade!" Lelouch. "Too late." Kite keeps whispering. "Don't worry though, I'll get em back."

“Wait, did you get sprayed?” (edited)

2:14 PM

“When?”

“You—what do you mean, ‘personal neuroses’?! Are you looking down on me?!” Dana. "I didn't get sprayed... I mean she did." Kite.

“Oh sorry.”

2:14 PM

“Poor girl.”

Shawn Duveldt

Shawn gets on the police computer and quickly searches Ariel May

"You..." ??? "Is your name Dana?"

"Dana?"

Ariel May does not have many results. She was recently held for questioning when her parent's home was robbed by a man named Jeremy Baxter.

“Shut the fuck up, Jay! I have bigger fish to fry!” Dana.

2:17 PM

"Sorry - I wasn't looking down on you. I'm not really allowed to do that anymore, which is a stupid thing to hear and an even stupider thing to try and explain, but - you have a gun. And I - I can help, somehow. This situation is - salvageable, right?" Harriet. "I can rectify it. I'm really, really good at defusing tension."

2:17 PM

"Fish... fish? Do you know Hav Kerloe?" ???.

"HAV KERLOE?!"

"And I'm not dangerous, either. If you let me out of the cage I'll just be prime meat, see? My legs don't work. I can be the whipping girl." Harriet.

"Okay. fuck. Okay. Uh. Dana. That's probably Dana Craig. She is wanted for the murder of Marco Gould. Also uhh someone else but she didn't commit that one."

“What the fuck are you talking about? Don’t get me involved in—-euuuurgh! You fucking pervert!” Dana. "Hav? How the hell do you remember his name?" Male voice.

"Hav Kerloe is a fishery owner. Remember a days ago when we split apart and I was looking for you? I told you I had an encounter by the docs right? That was with him."

2:19 PM

"Him, Bob Smith, and some other white suit guy."

2:19 PM

"I'm not sure how bandage man knows him."

"I don't want to talk to you, you traitor!" ???. Harriet. "It's not a sex thing. Anymore. From this point on it's not a weird sex thing, not that it ever was - fuck. I'm - looking in other directions, right now." "There's a key, it's probably around here somewhere. You 3, go look for it in this room." Jade. (edited)

"What are you doing right now, Kite? Do they know you're there?"

"Don't worry, faithful maiden. We'll find a way to get you out!" Lelouch. “What? Huh? I….” Dana.

2:22 PM

"Stop talking bro, I'm hiding..." Kite.

"Sorry."

"Hey- Jade told you to search for a key, so search for a key!" Lelouch. "Did you put me in this cage, Gordon?" ???. "Well, I didn't oppose it." Male voice who at this point is clearly named Gordon.

2:23 PM

“GGGEEAGH!” Dana. “I hate you! I fucking hate you!”

Quietly "We can't just sit around and... Do nothing. those people are getting fucked over."

2:24 PM

"Wait for the right moment to intervene."

"I found her wheelchair." Gordon. "Dana, look over here!" Ariel.

Shawn looks on the police computer for anyone named harriet on a wheelchair. He doesn't expect to find anything but it's his best bet

"So, what's your name?" Lelouch. “Huh?” Dana. "Harriet," Harriet. "And yours?" Ariel. "There's some other stuff in here, too."

2:28 PM

"Lelouch. Lelouch Maoziwam!" Lelouch says the first name with more emphasis than the surname. "Who locked you in this cage? Was it a guy? Guys will do that." “Oh, shit.” Dana. “That means… mm.”

2:29 PM

"It might be the wrong key, but it's the only one here." Jade.

What's going on here? Why are these people locked in cages? Why is Lelouch here?

2:29 PM

Where the fuck is Jeff Johnner?

"New superpowered object to keep track of... Seems like some kind of magic key that opens things." Kite.

"Like... physical things? That seems almost entirely useless."

“Shut the fuck up about your stupid fake-ass straw feminism! You’re—I mean, I guess I should be happy, right?! If you’re just like this, and didn’t immediately look at me and take—and classify me as how much of a fucking woman I am, how easily, you think you can…” Dana. Harriet. "I, on occasion, have interpersonal.. issues with the male sex. I.... have my own, individual reasons for thinking this way, which aren't symptomatic of any greater.. social phenomena. That's the way I decide, of my own volition, to think about it."

Yesssss. Lelouch is getting owned.

"Hey! Unlock my door!" ???. “Please don’t.” Dana is pleading. There is no malice or spite. "I need it." ???.

2:32 PM

"Do I?" Jade asks Lelouch. "If I don't get out of the cage, I will starve to death." ???. "Why should you?" Lelouch.

2:32 PM

"I am above vindictive cruelty," Harriet.

Shawn, Kite, Lelouch, ???, Ouroboros...

2:33 PM

Now a key also...

"Well, that's resolved then. We should try to go find Johnner in some other room." Jade.

"Make sure you're well hidden, Kite."

2:34 PM

"Don't let them find Johnner first."

"...I know." Kite.

2:34 PM

"What??" ???. “Yeah, good idea. Everything else is secondary.” Dana.

God, this is fucking scary. Lelouch fucking Maoziwam is here. No one scares me like she does.

2:35 PM

And... Fuck... Fuck, if Kite gets found and sprayed.

"I mean, you tried to kill me, so why should I? Karma's a bastard, or whatever." Lelouch. "Do you know where else he could be, Jade?"

Worst case scenario.

"Tried to kill you? When!?" ???.

2:37 PM

"I should probably follow her. The last time I took my eyes off her, Johnner had one of his men knock her and another woman out to kidnap me, the dickhead." Lelouch.

2:39 PM

"I'm alone with the bandage guy. I'll check what he knows." Kite.

"Okay."

2:40 PM

"Only come out if you are 100% sure it's safe."

"H... ell... o? Help me!!" ???.

"Be careful of his body contortion stuff."

"Don't yell! Hasn't anyone ever told you about stealth!" Kite.

Shawn tries to get an understanding of the people he just overheard

2:43 PM

Dana Craig seems extremely aggressive. Shawn isn't sure what her deal is.

"...No?" ???.

Harriet seems a lot more passive.

2:44 PM

She didn't seem to change whatsoever after getting Lelouched

The sound of a gunshot rings out nearby. "It's like... When you do something quiet. So no one knows you're doing it." Kite.

"Careful, Kite."

2:44 PM

"I heard that shot. Be quick."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Kite. More gunshots. (edited)

This operation will be a total bust if Johnner dies before we can get a name out of him (edited)

2:46 PM

Why the hell is Lelouch here?

2:46 PM

Maybe it's to do with her kidnapping a few days ago? She might want revenge or something.

2:47 PM

Johnner might have been the one to order that.

2:47 PM

She wasn't the one who got kidnapped though, right? They got the wrong person.

2:47 PM

It was supposed to be Sophie, right?

2:48 PM

She's not here though. Last I heard, she was in a coma.

2:48 PM

Maria then. That must be the one she meant when she said one of them wandered off and got kidnapped.

2:48 PM

She's definietley here.

2:49 PM

"What's going on over there..." Shawn unconciously mutters

2:52 PM

This is all too much

"Who's being shot?" ???. "I dunno! But I'll get to them later. Tell me what you've been up to." Kite.

"Ask him if he remembered who he is."

"Fine, fine... Do you remember who you are now?" Kite. "Uh...... no?" ???.

2:54 PM

"Then what've you been doing for a week?" Kite.

2:56 PM

"I don't know what you mean." ???.

"Shit. Maybe he's had more memory loss."

"Ugh... Just tell me. Are you pro-Johnner or anti-Johnner?" Kite.

"Reterograde amnesia i think"

2:57 PM

"Or anterograde. I don't remember the name."

2:57 PM

"I'm talking your ear off. Sorry."

"I'm... uh... I was going to overthrow him." ???.

"What?"

2:59 PM

"Why?"

2:59 PM

"Ask him why."

"Why?" Kite.

3:03 PM

"I agreed to." ???.

"Elaborate."

"What does that mean?" Kite.

3:06 PM

"I was going to kill him, and then I'd take over his job, and someone else would take over the upper boss." ???.

"Wait, what? Does he know who the boss of the organization is now?"

3:07 PM

"And... Who ordered this userpation?"

"Who?" Kite.

3:12 PM

"Alexi." ???.

Alexi... Alexi

3:13 PM

"Ive never heard anyone named that."

3:13 PM

Shawn searches Alexi on the crimeputer

"Me neither."

3:14 PM

Alexi is a very normal name so there are too many results to sort through.

"Ask if she has a last name."

"What?" ???.

3:17 PM

"Does she have a last name?" Kite.

3:19 PM

"No." ???.

Shawn narrows his search for Alexi by things that might be in the description. Names like Dana, Harriet, Lelouch, Ariel, or Johnner

Nothing.

"Whoever this lady is, she's like the sentasaurus. Elusive."

"This is going nowhere." Kite.

"Keep pressing him."

"Why are you asking me about this?" ??? "Just let me out..." "Shouldn't I move on to Lelouch?" Kite.

"Maybe..."

3:26 PM

"What benefit would we have for freeing him? We're against the mafia as a whole, not just Johnner."

"Why would you do that?" ???.

3:27 PM

"Give us a reason to let you out. We're heroes, y'know? Not just against Johnner specifically." Kite.

"Don't say we!"

"I need it to not die." ???.

"It? Does he mean the mob?"

"You mean the mob?" Kite.

3:33 PM

"What? No?" ???. "Then what do you mean?" Kite.

3:36 PM

"I mean I'll... die from not eating enough. If I can't get out of the cage. I think." ???.

"How long have you been in there?"

3:37 PM

"Sorry. He"

3:37 PM

"They? It i guess."

"How long have you been here?" Kite.

3:40 PM

"I don't know." ???.

"What do you think, Kite? He could be useful, but I don't trust him fully."

"Me neither." Kite. "I'll come back to save you later."

"Get out of there quickly."

"What!? What am I supposed to do?" ???.

3:48 PM

"Alright... Looks like the gunshots are coming from this room." Kite.

"Be careful, Kite."

3:48 PM

"Avoid Lelouch like the plauge."

"Yeah, yeah, I know... Jade's the one I'm worried about, though. ...Huh. There's nothing in this room."

"Jade has the spray, right."

3:51 PM

"What?"

3:52 PM

"Look around."

"Nah... I know a faster way." Shawn can hear the sounds of him breaking things. "Huh. Some kind of elevator shaft. Can your suit protect me from a fall?"

"Probably." (edited)

3:52 PM

"It's like immune to physics or whatever."

3:53 PM

"Use your crowbar to slide down though. Falling will make a lot of noise."

"Let's find out." ...Bang. "It does."

God, he's such a dork. I love him a lot.

3:54 PM

"Good."

The sound of an explosion rings out. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

3:54 PM

"What was that?"

3:55 PM

"Can't be good..."

"I dunno... I'll follow the sound."

"Okay. Stay safe, Kite."

"Found them. Looks like they're trying to break through some kind of wall." Kite is whispering again.

"Is Johnner there?"

"If a rocket launcher didn't work, what could possibly break through that wall?" Gordon.

3:57 PM

"Jade really is funny." Lelouch.

3:59 PM

Kite lets out an "Ew..." that's way too loud.

"Shhh!!"

"...Fuck." He whispers.

"They heard you?"

4:00 PM

"Don't say anything. If they think that you're me, go along with it."

4:00 PM

"Lelouch might order you to break that door."

"Ha... I mean. Guess who can break through that wall." Kite. "You again..." Jade speaks with disgust.

Women

"Let's just look through all of these doors." Jade shrugs.

I sigh in relief once we’re out of the way of that… that. Now I can… I should be able to calm down, right? That was the reason for… um…

Lelouch does as Jade suggests.

I start searching. I’m here to kill Jeff. That’s my mission.

((Roll))

Harriet immediately attempts to look through all the doors as well.

((1.))

((girlfailure))

(13)

((1.))

((TRUE girlfailure)

Dana accidentally locks herself in the bathroom somehow. Harriet accidentally topples her wheelchair over while opening a door.

"Help," Harriet says, muffled.

Fuck.

Lelouch opens the door to Jeff Johnner himself, standing outside. "What the hell? Shit!" He tries to shoot Lelouch with a gun, but Jade pulls Lelouch out of the way.

"JADE!"

How am I so bad at this? It’s just… I mean, this is the easy part. No… the easy part is once we find him. That’s instant. This part is harder, I guess. I— “What?!” I try to break open the door to the bathroom.

"EX-FUCKING-CUSE ME, DON'T SHOOT MY GIRLFRIEND YOU BASTARD!" She's mad. How many other NPCs are there?

2:45 PM

oh wait i misunderstood)

Johnner shuts the door and keeps firing bullets wildly through the door. Jade hides next to Harriet by using the wheelchair as a shield.

Dana Craig

((Roll))

"What's happening," Harriet says.

((15))

Dana breaks open the door.

Lelouch follows suit and hides behind the wheelchair, or at least sits next to Jade.

“Where?” I look around frantically.

"Good job, Harriet." Jade. One door has many very obvious bullet holes.

Harriet's eyes brighten. "Thank you."

The gunshots have ended at this point.

Ugh. Of course. If I were only there at the exact moment. I wait for a reprieve in firing to… I don’t know, rush over, open the door, shoot him dead.

"HAH! DIDN'T BRING AMMUNITION, DUMBASS?!" Lelouch shouts out from behind the wheelchair as the gunshots stop.

The door is locked. Jade gets up and uses the key again, which works. The office looking room has no one in it anymore.

2:48 PM

There are no other doors inside.

“How?!”

"Huh?" Even Gordon is shocked.

“Some fucking— secret passage-ass, he…”

"Huh? Damn, he got away! That sly motherfucker!" She grumbles. Lelouch enters the office and searches for any trace of an exit.

I feel sick. I feel like I’m about to… “He must… he has to still be close, right? Unless we’re throwing our hands up and saying he teleported! We need to… uh, we…”

((Roll))

(18) (edited)

Harriet frowns. "...Bad." She says, astute as ever.

Lelouch halphazardly pulls out a book and causes the bookcase to swing out of the way. Behind it looks like some kind of elevator. Instead of a button to call the elevator, there's a keyhole. "Wow, magic makes things really useful." Jade.

“Huh?” Magic???

"Uh- Jade! Try the key! It might work!"

Jade does press the key. Nothing happens.

"Magic is real." Harriet says matter-of-factly.

"Damn. Johnner might have the key on him. Motherfucker!" She kicks the bookcase.

I try to break open the elevator door,

((Roll))

"WHY does it have to be so difficult?! Why can the bastard just- NOT stay still?! For one second- A one second slip so we can spray him?!" Lelouch grumbles. She angy.

“Shut up about your stupid fucking…”

2:55 PM

((3.))

"...This looks important." The other girl who has been here the whole time and said nothing holds up a piece of paper. Jade grabs it. "It's just some numbers. We need a key. Can you do anything right?" "...Sorry." The girl.

Yeah. Of course that doesn’t work. It was an idiotic idea. What the fuck is wrong with you? I look at the numbers.

"Jade, could I see?" Lelouch steps towards Jade to look at the paper.

It's just a bunch of numbers. The elevator finally arrives and opens it's doors.

Lelouch whips around.

Huh? Oh, good. ??

2:58 PM

I rush into the elevator.

The NPCs all go into it as well.

Lelouch follows Dana.

2:58 PM

She makes sure to hold the door for Harriet because she's a lady.

Harriet follows.

It is incredibly cramped in the small elevator. Jade presses the only button inside and the doors close.

Who needs personal space when you have women.

Danganronpa.

Gordon, a man, continues to be in the elevator. The elevator stays closed for an uncomfortably long amount of time.

I hate this.

Harriet attempts to feel neutral about this.

"Why did Gorgon have to come in as well? It'd be much better if we left him outside..."

"I'm not really sure why you're here, if anything." Gordon. Ariel is fine with this. She might even be positive about all of this.

“I don’t understand why anyone who isn’t either armed or insane is still heading this way.”

"Because they love Ms. Lelouch, of course." Jade.

“Well, maybe she should consider making better choices.” Was that too mean? Nah, bitch deserves it.

Harriet nods, focused on the curve of Jade's face. She's only sort of paying attention.

"I make the best choices. Jade was one of them."

“Was putting her in harm's way one, too?” (edited)

"Jade, ask Dana to stop talking." Lelouch bluntly asks this.

"Stop talking, Dana." Jade.

Girlbossing.

Hahahahahahhaahahahahahahahhahaha

Harriet wasn't addressed, but decides not to talk anyways.

I lean against the wall, hugging my own torso tightly. It’s not like my existence matters until I can kill him.

The elevator doors finally open. They're in what looks like some kind of service tunnel.

3:11 PM

"I had no idea this existed..." Gordon.

I step out, looking for the man.

The tunnel splits off into 2 directions.

I run to the left.

Ariel follows Dana.

Gh.

"Yeah, I trust them more." Gordon follows Ariel and Dana. "Then we take the right, right Ms Lelouch?" Jade.

"Of course. Maria, Officer," Lelouch says to the people behind her, "you're coming with us. What about you, Harriet?" Idk if there's any other npcs.

((Just trying to figure out what channels I'm making))

"I'll follow Jade," Harriet says firmly.

"Great! A cutie like Jade is the best person to follow." Lelouch says this before platning a kiss on Jade's cheek.

Dana is now madly in love with Jade Lamperouge. That’s her full name, Dana intuitively knows this now. She is so in love that she is completely incapable of disobeying any order Jade gives her. She cannot directly state this, so as to not make Jade uncomfortable naturally, but this is an emotion that compels her no matter what. Dana does not see this as an unnatural development or suspicious at all.

1984

6:04 PM

((I will of course completely follow this.))

((how old is jade exactly))

((Im not telling Scipe this but I’ll say it in your thread))

((I hope this doesn't become Dana viotto entemann))

((god you're the fucking worst))

6:16 PM

((this is definitely the funniest thing to conceivably happen to dana craig))

(( :3 ))

(( Do i recognize ??? ))

((Yes))

(( Oh no. ))

((They look the same as before))

((Saturday))

(())

Dana, Ariel, and Gordon reach a large open room that sort of looks like a storage room. It doesn't seem like it's gotten any use in a long time though. In the center of the room is Jeff Johnner, who is holding a shotgun.

I shoot him. With my gun.

((Roll))

((18))

It successfully hits him right in the heart, but this only knocks him over. "Not going down that easily... Craig." He turns to Gordon. "And you... I expected better." "So did I, sir." Gordon.

I don’t have anything to say even if I could talk. What was the point of this? What personal stake did I have, the way these two are exchanging some cryptically meaningful words? It was nothing. Self-preservation. Self-preservation at best. It was potentially something far worse. I steady my aim to finish the job.

((Roll))

((19))

3:23 PM

((I did not actually mean to shoot again immediately if you want to do an epic Jeff monologue))

Another really good shot. Johnner's bulletproof vest tanks it again, however. He decides to just fire his shotgun at Dana without getting up. It doesn't do any lethal damage but it knocks Dana over in pain.

It’s fine. Physical pain is nothing. None of this matters. It’ll be undone by the end.

3:24 PM

I struggle to get back up. A vest, huh…?

Ariel heals up Dana with the brush as Johnner just shoots them again. It misses. "More of you superhuman freaks, huh?" Johnner just looks tired at this point.

I smirk. Yeah, kind of. …A bulletproof vest doesn’t cover the head. I go for that.

"That's fine... I'll just have to put you down faster than you can heal." He shoots back. ((Roll))

((17))

3:30 PM

I think I’m getting good at this, actually.

The bullet hits Johnner's head, but not in a fatal area. Johnner's shot completely decimates Dana's legs. As she falls, her gun falls out of her hand and slips away. "...Shit." Johnner grabs his bleeding head.

You’re only delaying the inevitable. I… oh. Legs. Hm. I look at the out of reach gun.

Ariel heals Dana's legs. "That brush of yours... It's cheating, y'know? God... He made us all equal. Our perfect selves, all together. Our destiny's defined by our suffering. You ever suffered, Craig? Do you know what it's like to watch everyone you love die? What makes you deserve this, you selfish bitch? Some shitty blessing!?" Johnner.

I don’t deserve anything. Never in my life have I provided anything of value to the world, displayed any skills or merit that warrant a reward. So I guess I don’t deserve a win. But still… I do. Because I take it. I dive for the gun.

He shoots at Dana again. ((Roll))

((16))

Dana narrowly avoids the shotgun blast, and reaches the gun. Johnner runs to the wall, before being grabbed from behind by Gordon, who holds a knife up to his neck. "What?" Johnner. "So you lost people. You think that makes any of this worth it? You've paid everything back in selfish blood a million times over." Gordon's body blocks Johnner from Dana's sight.

Tch.

"Come on... Do it, then. Or does your stupid cult not let you when I'm like this?" Johnner chuckles and kicks Gordon between his legs. Gordon drops the knife in pain, and Johnner keeps running until he's reached the wall. Lelouch, Harriet, Jade, Maria, and the cop all run in.

3:47 PM

Also they're carrying an absurd amount of weapons.

They walk down the right path.

Harriet rolls.

Lelouch confidently leads the way.

They arrive at a locked door. There's a keypad next to it. Jade tries to use the magic key, but it does nothing.

"Hm." Lelouch glares at the keypad. "Maybe the note Maria found has something to do with it?"

Maria inputs the code, and the door opens. "Oh... You actually did something right for once." Jade.

Harriet, having forgotten another person existed, glances over.

"Good job, Maria!" Lelouch says before pushing past the woman and into the room.

There's an absurd amount of weapons and various armours in here. Basically anything they can imagine, it's been stashed in here. There are no other doors and Johnner isn't here, however.

"Alright! Do you guys have anything that could carry stuff like this?"

"Hands?" Jade.

"Arms."

3:27 PM

"A lap."

3:27 PM

"Why do we need this?"

"To kill a mafia boss, of course." Jade excitedly grabs a flamethrower.

"I see no problem with that," Harriet says.

Jade starts piling things up on Harriet's lap.

Lelouch does too. "Officer, Maria, help."

They do this.

3:37 PM

"We should probably go in the other direction now." Jade.

"Right." Lelouch gives a nod of affirmation as she leads the party back the way they came.

They follow her.

Harriet follows.

Lelouch goes down the other way.

Dana, Ariel, and Gordon are all fighting Jeff Johnner. He's holding a shotgun, bleeding from his ear, and backed up against the wall.

I shoot Johnner to death.

((Roll)) "...Fuck." Johnner.

((13))

It hits his vest. The wall slides open behind him and he slips through it, before it shuts once again.

foiadjgioslkjlkgjlkadlksjklsadjgkljkfljgkldfjgkdsjlkgjdflkskgjklfdsjlgkdjsfh

"Dammit, we were too late. Are you alright?" She asks this specifically to Ariel and Dana. She doesn't care about Gordon.

Unbelievable.

"How prepared was he for this shit?" Gordon. Jade grabs a rocket launcher from Harriet's lap and fires it at the wall. (edited)

Lelouch looks at Jade for the entire time the rocket is launched no fucking way I'm facing that

Harriet winces and shuts her eyes.

The wall explodes, uncovering a thick layer of solid steel. It looks like some kind of nuclear fallout shelter. "It was worth a shot." Jade.

I stare at it. …I bend down and reload my gun, if possible.

"Heh. A shot. Jade... you're so funny."

It's possible. There are a lot of bigger guns on Harriet's lap though.

That was my kill. This is my gun!

Harriet Kadin

"Heh. A shot. Jade... you're so funny."

"Thank you!" Jade smiles.

Dana stews in silent rage like the pathetic impotent little rat she is.

"If a rocket launcher didn't work, what could possibly break through that wall?" Gordon.

"Jade really is funny." Lelouch agrees with 100% earnesty.

Jade goes for a group hug with Lelouch and Harriet.

I punch the wall with my stupid fucking fist.

dana craig

Dana Craig

I punch the wall with my stupid fucking fist.

((Roll))

Harriet hugs her enthusiastically.

((15))

Dana accomplishes nothing but doesn't hurt her fist too bad. Jade kisses them both. The voice of Ray "Kite" Elliott suddenly makes a loud "Ew..." from behind the door they just came from.

What?!

4:00 PM

I decide not to attempt to break my hand against the wall and instead focus on something less r-slur. I turn to the door, alert.

Kite steps out. He's wearing a suit that looks like a weird sort of beetle instead of his usual. "Ha... I mean. Guess who can break through that wall." "You again..." Jade speaks with disgust.

"Fuck off."

I gesture to the wall impatiently.

"I miss the kissing part." Harriet says, despondent.

I’m going to kill everyone in the room and then myself.

4:03 PM

Joke.

"Girls kissing girl? What are you, a (homophobic slur)?" Kite, a gay man. (edited)

4:04 PM

Jade takes out the perfume threateningly.

Everyone here is a moron except for me. Yeah, see? I can’t be judged or fuck up if I simply never talk, ever. This is great. I’m great. Haha.

"If anyone's a (homophobic slur), it's you!" Lelouch, a lesbian woman.

4:06 PM

"Stop trying to insert your pathetic narrative into our story and accept you're a bottomfeeder who'll only be useful when, and I say that confidentally, me and Jade spray you."

"No one here is a homosexual." Harriet says confidently. "I don't think we need to make baseless assumptions."

Ehn/PC pinned a message to this channel. 8/25/2023 4:07 PM

That feels wrong, but I don’t know enough about anyone to dispute it.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kite leaps forward and swings the crowbar at the perfume. In a panic, Jade turns around and tries to protect the bottle with her body.

"JADE!" Lelouch picks up a gun from Harriet's lap and points it at Kite.

The crowbar collides with Jade's head and she simply vanishes.

I aim to shoot at Lel—huh?

"Uh..." Kite stumbles back. "I think... I think Jade's dead?"

Harriet blinks. A snapping sound echoes in the back of her head. Suddenly - sharp clarity, as if emerging from cold water. And then confusion. "What the fuck?"

4:10 PM

"What the fuck?"

Dana Craig has seen better days. Probably not the one here the worst off.

Kite walks a little backwards from the group. "Johnner's through that wall, right?"

I nod. I’m glad he understands the only thing to ever be important, and also is surely paying attention to the information I convey specifically.

"Then... I've just gotta kill the rest of you and finish my job. Ha... Being a hero's never been so easy." Kite. Maria passes out cold.

Lelouch is just. Speechless. She's still got her gun aimed at Kite.

Oh, he’s insane. Okay.

"...What did you do?" She asks, coldly, finger on the trigger. "Where the fuck is Jade?"

"Shoot me. Don't worry... I won't die." Kite.

((CARLOS MENTIONED))

If my disgusting impulses can’t be controlled, at least my actions can. I grab Ariel. It was only ever her. My only hope. I stand in front of her.

Lelouch shoots at his feet. "What the FUCK did you do to my girlfriend?"

"Ha... As if I'd admit not knowing something." Kite says smugly.

Oh shit. "Oh shit, that was your girlfriend?"

"Don't make me put the next bullet through your head, if the skull's not thick enough."

I stare at Harriet before forcing myself to focus on the main threat.

4:16 PM

Ok, clearly the crowbar is magic, and can completely destroy things and people. It’s like Vanilla Ice, from jojo. Just need to uh… avoid that.

"Come on, Lelouch. Kill me. I'm waiting!" Kite.

Oh, is this like a suicide by cop thing? Jesus. What happened to this fuckin’ guy?

4:17 PM

I aim my gun in the general direction Lelouch and Kite are both in.

((Wait do you mean the perfume bottle?))

4:18 PM

((It vanished with Jade))

(Ohhh I should've checked)

4:18 PM

(Okay ignore that then)

"I'm sorry," Harriet says miserably. "There's something really wrong with me, Jesus.... I'm sorry - I don't know what I'm doing.. is that a defense? That I didn't know? I need........"

4:20 PM

Harriet trails off into indecipherable mumbling. Her hand moves, sluggishly, to her face, as if to impact it, but just barely misses the slope of her cheek and flops limply to the side, like a puppet with all strings severed.

Lelouch doesn't say anything simply keeping her hands on the gun.

Dana Craig stands there incredibly high strung and overclocked, like a puppet with strings very present also on cocaine and in bondage gear and a straitjacket.

"Jeez, you guys are boring... Come on. You gonna make me the only one doing anything this whole fight?" Kite. "Shoot him." Ariel whispers this to Dana.

I smile. Finally, something I’m happy to listen to. I shoot him.

The bullet explodes on impact with the suit, and Kite seems completely unnaffected. "Aha! That's more like it!" Kite.

I roll my eyes. At least there’s a clear reason that didn’t kill him. (edited)

4:23 PM

I wonder what happened to the other guy. The one who had that suit. Whatever. He probably doesn’t matter.

"That's why you never give men what they want." She keeps her eyes firmly on Kite, only wincing at the bullet's explosion. "Just take the wall away or whatever and get the fuck out."

…Does the suit cover all of him?

"Nah... This is payback. For real this time." Kite looks down bitterly at where Jade was standing. "It really... Didn't hurt so much after all. Taking a life. Lot of build up for nothing, I guess. It's kind of embarassing." He looks back up at Lelouch. "But you... Your whole crowd... Everyone who stands in my way. I'm gonna make 'em pay for what you've done." Gordon grabs a gun from Harriet's lap and fires it several times. None of them do anything. "...Nah. Not like that. Let's do this my way." Kite points the crowbar dramatically. ((Everyone roll initiative!))

((13))

((20))

((3))

((Fastest thing alive))

((12))

It's Harriet's turn.

Harriet is too busy freaking the fuck out to do anything about this situation.

It’s Dana’s turn.

Hmph. This could be a trivial obstacle, ultimately. It’s a matter not of strength… but politics. I steady my grip and continue to examine if there’s any physical weak points to this defense. “MAOZIWAM!” I growl, having obviously always been capable of speaking when it became necessary. “Who is this?” I glance behind me at Ariel briefly.

4:40 PM

((This is my whole “turn”, I guess?))

Ariel skips her turn.

It’s okay, I understand.

Kite hits Dana in the chest with a crowbar. It is not immediately fatal but she can undeniably feel that this will kill her if she doesn't heal.

4:42 PM

Gordon shoots at Kite some more. It does nothing.

4:42 PM

The cop shoots Kite as well. Also useless.

4:42 PM

It's Lelouch's turn.

Lelouch still dutifully holds her gun, but doesn't shoot. "He's an asshole who calls himself Kite, can't bother to remember his real name. He's got a pathetic, useless hero complex and loves to villanise women. Also, he loves getting in the way of my plans because of whatever problems he's got brewing in his head, which is just the icing on the shitcake that is Kite." She keeps the gun pointed at his head and moves to the back of the room.

It's Harriet's turn.

Harriet falls out of her wheelchair.

This scatters all the weaponry she was carrying across the floor.

4:47 PM

It's Dana's turn.

Dana Craig, who is me, screams in pain. But then I laugh. “Ha… hahahaha! Not gone, not one hit…. Heh… I guess I’m made of stronger stuff than… ugh, not his nickname or your shitty grudge, you idiot, I…” I let this thought which was already interrupting another unfinished thought remain unfinished as I both lack confidence in how I even would conclude it while also realizing that I am going to die. “Ariel. Ariel! Ariel please. Ariel, I need you Ariel, please. I don’t want to die. I don’t… I can still win. I have a lot left to do. I’m gonna be… so good. For you. Okay? I just… I need more time. I need to live. Please! Ariel, I…. I love you. I didn’t say it before. Sorry. Please. I don’t want to die. I just, I… you can help me, you’re special, I… Ariel, I…” This goes on indefinitely! Some of it is audible. Dana sort of pathetically stumbles closer to the Johnner Wall (tm) and, lacking any effective attack, does nothing else at the moment.

Ariel uses the paintbrush on Dana, healing her instantly.

Okay, cool. Anyway.

Kite attacks the cop. It hits.

4:58 PM

Gordon keeps shooting at Kite.

4:58 PM

The cop.

4:58 PM

It’s Lelouch’s turn.

5:01 PM

((For note, speaking is a free action. You guys don’t have to wait for turns for that))

“Thanks :3”

5:01 PM

Dana would not say that. She wouldn’t say colon 3.

"COP, DO SOMETHING USEFUL AND BODY HIM!" She yells while distancing herself. "Gordon, make sure he can't get to the weapons! Dana, check on Harriet, uh-" Lelouch looks at Kite. Is there anywhere on him that's exposed or is it all suit?

Pretty much all suit.

Fucking great.

5:03 PM

Lelouch closes her eyes and shoots him. I assume the bullet explodes upon impact like the rest.

5:03 PM

(or was that my turn)

The bullet explodes upon impact.

5:04 PM

It’s Harriet’s turn.

((harriet [me] has to LEAVE))

((Okay end session))

5:05 PM

((The Craig of our lives can resume next week))

((I will be late by like an hour today because of mandatory college stuff))

It’s Harriet’s turn.

Harriet attempts to pick up one of the guns that's fallen to the ground.

((Roll (hey guys it’s me Atmey)))

Harriet picks up a gun.

Harriet shoots wildly into the sky, intending to hit Kite, but some combination of derangement and instability leads her to just.. shoot at random.

((Roll))

((I swear to god.))

((20))

The bullet somehow perfectly hits Kite in the head. Naturally, this still accomplishes nothing.

3:29 PM

It’s Dana's turn.

I stare at Harriet. She’s fine, clearly. Aside from the absurdity of her presence here. Only those ready to fight should be here, and by my count, that’s me… and the cop. I guess they had the sense to try getting armed. But Johnner was mine. My mark! And this fucking guy… isn’t. It’s hers. I glance towards that fucking one. Regardless. My most valuable contribution would be to prevent him from targeting others. Particularly the healer. I wonder if I could trick him into busting this place open? Probably not. Worth a try, though. “Kite… I’ve actually seen you before, funnily enough. But I’m confused. By what’s changed. Just, this isn’t right.” I smirk. I ready myself and my reflexes to dodge at the right time. ((Readying an action is possible in D&D. Perhaps A&G is different.)) “I mean, where’s your boyfriend?” Olé.

"You mean my bro?" Kite.

“Call it what you will.” I chuckle.

3:45 PM

I don’t actually know a single thing about this relationship. Hopefully it’s enough to annoy him, though.

"Heh…" Kite smirks. "Thanks for reminding me. Now I’m REALLY in the mood to kill Lelouch." Ariel heals the cop.

Oh. Well, that’s still not bad. Probably better than me.

Kite attacks Harriet, and somehow misses.

“You’re really fucking bad at killing Lelouch, man.”

"Yeah, I can hear you! Jeez! Stop distracting me!" Kite yells this at no one in particular.

3:49 PM

Gordon and the cop shoot Kite. This continues to fail to succeed.

3:50 PM

It’s Lelouch’s turn.

3:50 PM

"How should I know!?" Kite.

Oh, cool. He’s insane or has an earpiece.

3:51 PM

Probably both.

"You! Tell me how you know us!" Kite says this to Dana.

“I have an informant.” I smile.

3:53 PM

“Us…?”

((is this like. a cave? asking for a friend)

((It is a room with brick walls))

((The children yearn for the mines.))

((what about the ceiling))

((Idk it’s like cement or something ig))

~~”Thing about battles over the mafia… The mafia always wins.” Lelouch stomps on the ground, causing the ceiling to crack then cave in and~~

"Hey!" She says, glancing to the officer. "Cop, be useful and get in front of me!" She, in an effort to do SOMETHING, shoots at the hand Kite's using to hold the crowbar.

((Roll))

(13)

It misses.

4:07 PM

It’s Harriet’s turn.

Harriet is so deeply tired and afraid and her body feels like a wrung-out towel, which, she decides apropros of nothing, means it's a good time for her to fall asleep. In the past, she's always woken up, if necessary. She wants to wake up again.

4:08 PM

Harriet shuts her eyes.

It’s Dana’s turn.

Perhaps it’s strange I’m not more fearful for my life. I did come very close then. It’s just gamer rationale, I guess. Not like I have much real experience to draw from. If a hit at full vitality didn’t kill me, it won’t next time. …Unless there’s damage spread. “Who is he talking to?” I wonder aloud. I won’t waste my ammunition. It’s obvious that’s ineffective. Hoping for some miracle scenario where he misses me and fucks up the wall behind me… is still my best plan. Pretty shitty. I’ll keep thinking. I glance nervously at Ariel, then focus back on the enemy. “I’m not even supposed to be here, man.” I smile at the reference to my own personal mythology. Wild.

Ariel has no one to heal, so she gets up close to Kite. "We can’t hurt you… And we don’t want to die. So how about a trade." "Nuh-uh. Not happening." Kite. Ariel turns to Lelouch and then back to Kite. "I’m a woman. I can make myself useful to you, okay?"

"Don't! You don't want to associate with Kite. He's like, a horrible guy! He forced Maria to kiss him!" Lelouch is baffled.

“…” I take a deep… a very deep breath. “Mm.” It’s about trust, right? I let her cook. For… For now.

4:23 PM

“I don’t want to associate with you, either.” I stare at her spitefully. “If we can get out of this without anyone in this room being slaughtered by bullshit magic, that’s great. But I’ll settle for less.”

"Obviously I’m not!" Kite. "I’ve had enough kissing girls for the day." Ariel looks confused. "I meant… This." She raises up the paintbrush. "I’m good in this kind of supporting role."

"I don't force women to kiss me because I'm insecure!" Lelouch shoots a glare at Kite.

“What does that mean, Ariel?” Open, honest communication. I’m so relationshipped right now.

Lelouch Maoziwam

"I don't force women to kiss me because I'm insecure!" Lelouch shoots a glare at Kite.

"That’s because you do it to boys!" Kite says confidently.

"I WOULD NEVER KISS A MAN! I'M NOT YOU!"

Dana Craig

“What does that mean, Ariel?” Open, honest communication. I’m so relationshipped right now.

"The eyepatch." Ariel points.

“Everything I do is consensual.” I proudly tout my moral superiority. “…Oh. I kind of assumed that was like… a stylistic choice? I guess that’s my bad.”

"Are you sure that eyepatch isn't just to make people think he's cooler than he is? It sounds like something he'd do."

“It’s kind of cool. Credit where it’s due.”

"It's not on him."

"Nope! 100% real!" Kite flips up the eyepatch to reveal the lack of an eye. Ariel uses the paintbrush on him. "There you go!"

"Ew." She says this referring to both pre- and post-eye Kite.

"…What?" Kite blinks out of both eyes.

“I don’t know if that was a good…” I trail off.

"Why couldn't you have made him completely blind? Effectively neutralise his annoying ass."

“That is not how it works.”

"Well then- double up his eyepatch or whatever. Block his vision instead of bettering it." (edited)

“I don’t think it does anything to anything but— why am I even bothering? That’s dumb. He’s impervious to harm, obviously.”

"Yea, yea, whatever." Lelouch grumbles. "Now that you have two eyes," she turns to Kite, "can you see how annoying you are?"

“Hah.”

"You... Erased it. The scar." Kite feels his eye. "Yeah. Try to keep up." Gordon.

"Why don't you put your new eye to good use and find the exit?"

"I'm asleep," Harriet repeats.

“Please don’t tell me you considered it necessary or core to your identity somehow.” I sigh. “This is already enough of a comedy of errors.”

"How dare you!" Kite swings the crowbar down on Ariel. She collapses on the floor, in clear shock from bloodloss. "That scar was who I am! I... How dare you kill the great Kite like that!?" Kite grabs the paintbrush and tosses it into the pile of stuff. "I'm a hero! And being a hero means suffering! So I'm gonna kill you all... And when I do, I'm gonna get so many scars it'll make that cripple look privileged!"

Harriet opens her eyes. "That's.. really rude."

4:42 PM

Dana

4:42 PM

I’m

Kite powers up from how angry he is and demonstrates this by destroying Harriet's wheelchair with his crowbar. Gordon shoots him. It misses. The cop gets in front of Lelouch defensively.

4:43 PM

It's Lelouch's turn.

"Ow."

((New revelation. Harriet’s wheelchair is part of her body))

4:51 PM

((am i being waited on. i was typing but decided it made more sense to react on my turn(tm) dana is currently in shock))

fnnvklnsd ah kk))

((whats that mean)

((yes you were being waited on i didn wanna fuck up smth))

((sowwy))

((nono!!! dwdw)

4:54 PM

Lelouch...steps out from behind the cop. (I don't know the specific arrangements of the room anymore I just assume she's further than Kite.) "Kite!" She calls out, gun in hand but not pointed at him.

4:55 PM

(It's not being used I don't know why I made it sound like it was being pointed somewhere, she's just holding it)

Kite does not respond.

"You came here for me, right? To kill me?" She asks, stepping towards him. "Well then, why're you wasting time and energy hitting defenceless women?" Lelouch tilts her head to the side. "What, are you too much of a chicken shit to actually do it? Is that why you've dolled yourself up in some dumbass suit and armed yourself with a crowbar? Too scared a girl will beat your ass without something to cripple her?"

He doesn't respond.

((Dana Craig is done shutting the fuck up.))

Lelouch rolls her eyes. "Coward. No wonder you had to force a woman to kiss you." She scoffs, before shooting at Kite's new eye.

((Roll))

((man the bot hates me today))

5:11 PM

((7))

It misses.

5:12 PM

It's Harriet's turn.

“You…” I mutter…

5:14 PM

Starting to come out of that… my stupor… embarrassing. I think that bitch took my opportunity for the first comeback. In a daze, I hobble forward. Very slightly. Towards him. ((Or I don’t. It’s more a symbolic addition to speech than an attempt to use initiative.)) “You… idiot. You shit-for-brains, cliched, pathetic, masochistic moron. I want you to understand this. I think you’re like me. I won’t get through your thick, worthless skull with any moralizing. Ohhh, you struck down a poor innocent woman! Stuff like that. You did, obviously. But who cares? You knew that. That’s a given. Why you’re here. I don’t want to tell you that.” I’m seething. I finally understand what the word means. It’s funny. I stifle an inappropriate laugh. Funny to feel like you’ve spent your entire life bitter and angry. And only now know what real rage is.

Harriet opens her eyes. There is no clarity; at least, not the kind she was hoping for. It is not a new day. It's the same dream, and Jade Lamperouge is still dead. Some things don't change.

5:20 PM

"I think there's something really wrong with me, Alexi." She says, and her voice is quiet. "I don't... I get what you were trying to say now, about the bravery, and holding myself in contempt... but I can't do it. Do you understand?. I think I used to be brave. I remember a point where I had, fuck, aspirations towards something. Which is why I started doing all of this in the first place, you know? But it's different now. It's so different. Fuck, I can't even... I used to refer to myself as I, you know, but it's all Harriet now, that unenviable distance. Do you get it? There's nothing here. God cleaned out all the rooms and turned the lights off."

5:21 PM

"If you're here," She says, staring up with wide, wet eyes from her place on the ground, "Send me a sign. Turn me into a meat crayon. Puppet me, okay? I don't want to be this anymore."

No response.

"Okay, fuck, then," she says, increasingly desperate - "The other one. The other one, I know you're there, I can feel you. You want me to be nice. I'm being nice. I'm on the ground. I can shoot myself in the head right now if it would make me a prettier corpse, okay? So please tell me something. Anything. I'll take it all."

5:25 PM

Nothing.

It's Dana's turn.

I continue my gradual stride. He’s got a pathetic range, anyway. What the fuck is the floor woman talking about? Whatever. It doesn’t matter remotely. All these fucking guys. None of you were supposed to be here. You want to do this to me? You want me to get dragged into… us, into your fucking, high school drama feud bullshit?! Fine! Fine. But it’s about ME. I’m the one this is happening to, who has to go through this. You all get the right to whine once you’ve done anything at fucking all. Me! Why does everyone ignore me??? “I want to make sure you understand. K… no, I won’t dignify your pansy ass stage name. Whoever you really are? You’re pathetic. You’re the dumbest person I’ve ever met. Next time you want to act against your own interest so brazenly and loudly, save the trouble for you and everyone else. Just kill yourself normally. I think I saw some rope upstairs.” I continue walking. “That was a gender thing, though. Men like it louder and grander, right? Crashing your car, suicide by cop. Too much pride to go softly.” I fiddle with the gun. Firing it won’t really do any good right now, clearly.

5:33 PM

“I don’t have any delusions you’ll listen to me, though. You don’t have the guts to do anything like that. Ohhhhh… Suffering? Don’t make me laugh. If you want to fetishize whatever sob story you’ve got, you don’t get to do that while fighting as the biggest pussy I’ve ever seen. I’m the only one suffering here… and it’s because you’re fucking boring!” I lunge at him. This is logical. This makes sense. See, it’ll be impossible to swing at me when I’m literally up in his face strangling him. And helping Ariel is pointless if I can’t get us out of this situation. Yeah.

((Roll))

((20))

Dana tackles Kite to the ground. "Fuck!"

I punch him in his stupid fucking face. ((That seems like a reasonable turn.))

((Roll))

((12))

Dana breaks her hand.

5:37 PM

Ariel continues to bleed out.

“Gehahahaha! Ohhh, you’ve really got it made!”

Kite skips the trouble of fighting Dana off him by just hitting her really hard with the crowbar. She is now on the floor, slowly dying again.

Oh. I get it. I was the one with pride.

5:39 PM

Haha.

Well, shit. "Cop, Gordon, one of you distract him while the other grabs that magic paintbrush or whatever and heal the WOMEN!"

"I don't take orders from you." Gordon proceeds to look for the paintbrush anyway, as instructed.

5:41 PM

The cop shoots Kite again. No success.

5:41 PM

It's Lelouch's turn.

"I meant TACKLE him, not SHOOT him!"

5:48 PM

"Ugh..." She rolls her eyes and looks Kite dead on. "...You're really pathetic for a guy who says he wants to kill me and then harms every other woman but me."

He continues to ignore her.

She shoots at the crowbar. "Once a-fucking-gain, I'm ignored."

((Roll))

((13))

It misses.

5:52 PM

It's Harriet's turn.

((harriet [me] has to do homework))

Harriet falls asleep.

((Jfjf jgjg ??))

((Genius solution))

((harriet nap time... zzz.....))

((i was ready to accept the end session but ok sure i can continue (dana is going to be so active in the near future)))

Dana passes out from blood loss. ((Unless you want to get some final words out here idk))

“I… I don’t… wanna…g—” She passes out from blood loss.

((Channel split))

Kite hits Gordon with the crowbar.

6:00 PM

The cop tries to tackle him. This succeeds.

6:00 PM

It's Lelouch's turn.

OH MY FUCKING GOD IT'S CONTINUING???

)

6:08 PM

((Is Gordon bleeding, knocked out or was he just hit?)

((Bleeding out))

((but can he do stuff)

((No))

Lelouch sighs. "This is NOT what I needed today."

6:10 PM

"Cop! Keep him there, and if he gets you off of him, don't go down without a damn fight and get back on." Lelouch says while searching for the paintbrush.

((Roll))

((14))

Lelouch cannot find it.

6:11 PM

Kite kills the cop, and gets up. "Just me and you now…"

"Oh for fuck's sakes."

6:14 PM

"He was my ride out of here, you dick."

"You asked, so I’ll say it. I didn’t come here for you. I didn’t come here for any of you. I came here to be a hero. To stop Jeff Johnner. When I saw you, I jumped at the opportunity for revenge. You took my bro. You took my second bro. And then… You tried to take me too. That’s unforgivable. For that… I was gonna kill you. But that 'I' doesn’t mean anything anymore." He points to his face. "My eye's back. My ear's back. She killed Kite. So our grudge is dead, you got that?"

6:19 PM

It’s Lelouch’s turn.

"..." She just...blinks. There were a million things she wanted to say; words she wanted to hurl at Kite, various being harmful, derogative, spiteful. He'd insulted Harriet, bludgeoned Ariel, Dana and Gordon, and killed the nameless cop. But the worst thing he did by far was...take away Jade Lamperouge. Her cutie, her girlfriend, her...everything. "...You got your revenge the minute you took away Jade. I wouldn't have gone easy on you, would've given you hell both verbally and physically." She holds up the gun. "But you're invincible or whatever, and you know you're invincible. You know no matter what I did, or said, or shot, you would've been fine. And now, you're surrounded by 4 unconscious people and one dead person, because..." She lets out an exhausted breath. "...because of a reason that doesn't fucking exist anymore." "I can't even do what I came here to do, so..." She takes a bitter gulp, "I got it." Lelouch decides to return searching for the paintbrush. (edited)

6:39 PM

((11, it's a futile attempt and she doesn't find it, right?))

She doesn’t find it.

6:41 PM

"…That’s funny. I don’t feel better." Kite swings his crowbar at Lelouch and the world goes black. ((End session))

"Ha... I mean. Guess who can break through that wall." Kite. "You again..." Jade speaks with disgust.

"Be careful, Kite..."

4:03 PM

"Run if you need to. You're more important then the mission."

"Fuck off." Lelouch.

4:03 PM

"I miss the kissing part." Harriet.

4:04 PM

"Girls kissing girl? What are you, a (homophobic slur)?" Kite, a gay man. (edited)

"slrfbhesdczxc"

4:05 PM

"Kite, please don't try to piss off the people who can mind control you."

4:05 PM

"Not any more then you have to."

4:05 PM

"Not that they don't deserve it."

4:05 PM

"I'm gonna shut up."

"If anyone's a (homophobic slur), it's you!" Lelouch, a lesbian woman.

Hey, no one calls Kite gay but me!

"Stop trying to insert your pathetic narrative into our story and accept you're a bottomfeeder who'll only be useful when, and I say that confidentally, me and Jade spray you." Lelouch.

"SHE'S the bottom feeder!!!"

4:08 PM

"Stupid bitch."

"No one here is a homosexual." Harriet says confidently. "I don't think we need to make baseless assumptions." "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kite.

"I'm pretty sure everyone here is homosexual." Shawn accidentally says outloud

"JADE!" Lelouch.

"This is bad, Kite... The suit won't prevent you from getting sprayed probably. Keep your distance."

"Uh..." Kite. "I think... I think Jade's dead?"

"What?"

4:10 PM

"What????"

4:10 PM

"How? What happened?"

"What the fuck? What the fuck?" Harriet.

"What the hell is going on over there?"

"Johnner's through that wall, right?" Kite.

"I don't know. I think so?"

4:12 PM

Shawn checks the plans that Howard had prepared

"Then... I've just gotta kill the rest of you and finish my job. Ha... Being a hero's never been so easy." Kite.

"Kite?"

4:13 PM

"What's going on?"

"...What did you do?" Lelouch. "Where the fuck is Jade?" "Shoot me. Don't worry... I won't die." Kite.

4:15 PM

Gunshot. "What the FUCK did you do to my girlfriend?" Lelouch. "Ha... As if I'd admit not knowing something." Kite says smugly.

4:15 PM

"Oh shit, that was your girlfriend?" Harriet. "Don't make me put the next bullet through your head, if the skull's not thick enough." Lelouch.

What the hell is going on there?

4:16 PM

Is Jade dead?

4:16 PM

Where did Dana and Ariel go?

"Come on, Lelouch. Kill me. I'm waiting!" Kite.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," Harriet says miserably. "There's something really wrong with me, Jesus.... I'm sorry - I don't know what I'm doing.. is that a defense? That I didn't know? I need........"

She sounds really pathetic.

4:21 PM

Shawn would know

"Jeez, you guys are boring... Come on. You gonna make me the only one doing anything this whole fight?" Kite.

"Don't tempt them, Kite! The spray, remember?"

4:22 PM

"Unless Jade had it when she... dissapeared? Or something? What's happening?"

Gunshot. "Aha! That's more like it!" Kite.

"..."

"That's why you never give men what they want." Lelouch. "Just take the wall away or whatever and get the fuck out."

4:27 PM

"Nah... This is payback. For real this time." Kite. "It really... Didn't hurt so much after all. Taking a life. Lot of build up for nothing, I guess. It's kind of embarassing. But you... Your whole crowd... Everyone who stands in my way. I'm gonna make 'em pay for what you've done." Several gunshots. "...Nah. Not like that. Let's do this my way." Kite. (edited)

"..."

4:27 PM

"Welcome to the club, I guess."

4:27 PM

"Kick their fucking asses."

4:29 PM

Are they fighting? Can shawn hear it?

“MAOZIWAM!” Dana. “Who is this?” (edited)

"Kite? What's happening?"

There's clear sounds of fighting.

"..."

4:44 PM

Shawn checks quickly on Howard

4:44 PM

Is he still asleep?

Still unconscious.

Good

4:45 PM

Shawn returns to the mic

4:45 PM

God this sucks. Shawn doesn't know whats happening at all

4:45 PM

Worse, he can't do anything.

4:45 PM

Kite better keep his promise.

"He's an asshole who calls himself Kite, can't bother to remember his real name. He's got a pathetic, useless hero complex and loves to villanise women. Also, he loves getting in the way of my plans because of whatever problems he's got brewing in his head, which is just the icing on the shitcake that is Kite." Lelouch.

"Call her a [homophobic slur] again."

4:52 PM

What's going on......

Dana Craig screams in pain. But then she laughs. “Ha… hahahaha! Not gone, not one hit…. Heh… I guess I’m made of stronger stuff than… ugh, not his nickname or your shitty grudge, you idiot, I… Ariel. Ariel! Ariel please. Ariel, I need you Ariel, please. I don’t want to die. I don’t… I can still win. I have a lot left to do. I’m gonna be… so good. For you. Okay? I just… I need more time. I need to live. Please! Ariel, I…. I love you. I didn’t say it before. Sorry. Please. I don’t want to die. I just, I… you can help me, you’re special, I… Ariel, I…” This goes on indefinitely! Some of it is audible.

This hurts to listen to. It reminds Shawn of himself begging Kite to take him back at the hospital

5:01 PM

It’s earnest in its patheticness.

5:01 PM

Shawn didn’t know if Dana deserved what it is. But if she’s anything like Shawn, probably

"Thanks." Dana.

What?

((End session))

((Saturday))

Hello?

There’s the sound of an incredibly close gunshot.

"Kite!!!! Are you okay?"

3:34 PM

This is so frustrating

3:34 PM

Why won't he respond?

3:34 PM

What is going on over there?

3:34 PM

Why am I so powerless here? Why can't i DO anything?

3:35 PM

Am I supposed to just sit and watch?

“Kite… I’ve actually seen you before, funnily enough. But I’m confused. By what’s changed. Just, this isn’t right.” Dana pauses. “I mean, where’s your boyfriend?”

3:44 PM

"You mean my bro?" Kite.

3:45 PM

“Call it what you will.” Dana chuckles.

"What?"

3:47 PM

"Where has she seen us before?"

"Heh…" Kite. "Thanks for reminding me. Now I’m REALLY in the mood to kill Lelouch."

"What are you talking about?"

3:47 PM

"Can you even hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you! Jeez! Stop distracting me!" Kite.

3:49 PM

“You’re really fucking bad at killing Lelouch, man.” Dana.

"How does she know us?"

"How should I know!?" Kite.

"Ask her!"

3:51 PM

"Threaten her!"

3:52 PM

“Whatever, focus on the mission. Don’t get hurt.”

"You! Tell me how you know us!" Kite.

3:54 PM

“I have an informant.” Dana. "Us…?" (edited)

“Shit.”

3:56 PM

“I mean, she means the Advent Guard. She said as much before”

"Hey!" Lelouch. "Cop, be useful and get in front of me!"

“Is that Kingsley? Don’t kill him!”

“Who is he talking to?” Dana. “I’m not even supposed to be here, man.”

What the hell is going on over there? (edited)

Ariel. "We can’t hurt you… And we don’t want to die. So how about a trade." "Nuh-uh. Not happening." Kite. Ariel. "I’m a woman. I can make myself useful to you, okay?"

?????

"Don't! You don't want to associate with Kite. He's like, a horrible guy! He forced Maria to kiss him!" Lelouch.

"Don't listen to them, bro."

"Obviously I’m not!" Kite.

"That girl, Ariel. We don't really want to kill her if we don't have to either."

4:24 PM

"They can't be trusted if they're under Lelouch control though."

4:24 PM

Shawn is still kinda paniced from that wearing off

Kite. "I’ve had enough kissing girls for the day." Ariel. "I meant… This. I’m good in this kind of supporting role." (edited)

"Does she have powers?"

“I don’t want to associate with you, either.” Dana. “If we can get out of this without anyone in this room being slaughtered by bullshit magic, that’s great. But I’ll settle for less.”

4:25 PM

"I don't force women to kiss me because I'm insecure!" Lelouch.

"She totally does."

“What does that mean, Ariel?” Dana.

4:26 PM

"That’s because you do it to boys!" Kite says confidently.

4:27 PM

"I WOULD NEVER KISS A MAN! I'M NOT YOU!" Lelouch. (edited)

4:27 PM

"The eyepatch." Ariel.

4:27 PM

“Everything I do is consensual." Dana. “…Oh. I kind of assumed that was like… a stylistic choice? I guess that’s my bad.”

4:28 PM

"Are you sure that eyepatch isn't just to make people think he's cooler than he is? It sounds like something he'd do." Lelouch.

I always liked the eyepatch. It makes him look cool

“It’s kind of cool. Credit where it’s due.” Dana. "It's not on him." Lelouch.

4:30 PM

"Nope! 100% real!" Kite. Ariel. "There you go!"

"Don't get distracted."

"Ew." Lelouch. "…What?" Kite sounds completely stunned.

4:33 PM

“I don’t know if that was a good…” Dana trails off. "Why couldn't you have made him completely blind? Effectively neutralise his annoying ass." Lelouch. “That is not how it works.” Dana. "Well then- double up his eyepatch or whatever. Block his vision instead of bettering it." Lelouch.

“What’s going on? Did she fix your eye?”

“I don’t think it does anything to anything but— why am I even bothering? That’s dumb. He’s impervious to harm, obviously.” Dana.

4:35 PM

"Yea, yea, whatever." Lelouch grumbles. "Now that you have two eyes," she turns to Kite, "can you see how annoying you are?" “Hah.” Dana.

4:36 PM

"You... Erased it. The scar." Kite. "Yeah. Try to keep up." Gordon.

4:37 PM

"Why don't you put your new eye to good use and find the exit?" Lelouch. "I'm asleep," Harriet repeats.

4:38 PM

“Please don’t tell me you considered it necessary or core to your identity somehow.” Dana sighs. “This is already enough of a comedy of errors.”

“I’m sorry, Kite.”

"How dare you!" Kite. "That scar was who I am! I... How dare you kill the great Kite like that!? I'm a hero! And being a hero means suffering! So I'm gonna kill you all... And when I do, I'm gonna get so many scars it'll make that cripple look privileged!"

4:42 PM

"That's.. really rude." Harriet.

4:44 PM

"Ow." Harriet.

…

4:51 PM

Shawn isn’t Beetle without the suit that protects him from harm. Maybe Ray thinks he isn’t Kite without the scars from the harm that’s been done to him

"Kite!" Lelouch.

“I’m sorry, Kite. I’m sorry.”

4:57 PM

“I’m… I’m…”

5:00 PM

Agh

5:01 PM

Why isn’t Shawn there. Why can’t Shawn be there for him. Why couldn’t Shawn have prevented…. (edited)

5:01 PM

I’m such a fucking waste

5:01 PM

I hate this

5:01 PM

I hate everything about this

5:02 PM

We’re heros, right? We do hero work. Why do we do this to ourselves. We only seem to make ourselves miserable

5:04 PM

I don’t want Kite to be hurt. That’s the last thing I want. So… why does he keep putting himself in these situations? Why can’t I stop him? (edited)

5:05 PM

Killing Lelouch no matter how badly she deserves it won’t make him feel better

"You came here for me, right? To kill me?" Lelouch. "Well then, why're you wasting time and energy hitting defenceless women? What, are you too much of a chicken shit to actually do it? Is that why you've dolled yourself up in some dumbass suit and armed yourself with a crowbar? Too scared a girl will beat your ass without something to cripple her?"

“Don’t let her get to you.”

5:06 PM

“If she still has the perfume that’s the number 1 threat.”

"Coward. No wonder you had to force a woman to kiss you." Lelouch. Gunshot.

It’s awful to hear this. Guns and yelling and… i can’t do anything here. Why am I here. Why can’t I help. What am I doing….

“You…” Dana mutters. “You… idiot. You shit-for-brains, cliched, pathetic, masochistic moron. I want you to understand this. I think you’re like me. I won’t get through your thick, worthless skull with any moralizing. Ohhh, you struck down a poor innocent woman! Stuff like that. You did, obviously. But who cares? You knew that. That’s a given. Why you’re here. I don’t want to tell you that.”

“Kite?”

"I think there's something really wrong with me, Alexi." Harriet says, and her voice is quiet. "I don't... I get what you were trying to say now, about the bravery, and holding myself in contempt... but I can't do it. Do you understand?. I think I used to be brave. I remember a point where I had, fuck, aspirations towards something. Which is why I started doing all of this in the first place, you know? But it's different now. It's so different. Fuck, I can't even... I used to refer to myself as I, you know, but it's all Harriet now, that unenviable distance. Do you get it? There's nothing here. God cleaned out all the rooms and turned the lights off."

5:21 PM

"If you're here, send me a sign. Turn me into a meat crayon. Puppet me, okay? I don't want to be this anymore." Harriet.

…

5:22 PM

“Don’t kill her, man. She doesn’t deserve that.”

5:23 PM

Shawn didn’t… I didn’t really know how to feel about that

"Okay, fuck, then," Harriet says, increasingly desperate - "The other one. The other one, I know you're there, I can feel you. You want me to be nice. I'm being nice. I'm on the ground. I can shoot myself in the head right now if it would make me a prettier corpse, okay? So please tell me something. Anything. I'll take it all."

Is she talking about me?

5:27 PM

Who does she… what?

5:27 PM

I don’t understand this. I don’t understand anything

5:29 PM

I’m sorry. I don’t know how to help you

5:30 PM

“What’s going on Kite? Is someone dead?”

“I want to make sure you understand. K… no, I won’t dignify your pansy ass stage name. Whoever you really are? You’re pathetic. You’re the dumbest person I’ve ever met. Next time you want to act against your own interest so brazenly and loudly, save the trouble for you and everyone else. Just kill yourself normally. I think I saw some rope upstairs.” Dana. “That was a gender thing, though. Men like it louder and grander, right? Crashing your car, suicide by cop. Too much pride to go softly. I don’t have any delusions you’ll listen to me, though. You don’t have the guts to do anything like that. Ohhhhh… Suffering? Don’t make me laugh. If you want to fetishize whatever sob story you’ve got, you don’t get to do that while fighting as the biggest pussy I’ve ever seen. I’m the only one suffering here… and it’s because you’re fucking boring!”

5:35 PM

"Fuck!" Kite.

Shawn goes from weirdly sad to fuming

5:36 PM

“Fuck off, lady! Who the fuck are you?!”

5:36 PM

“She can’t hear me. Damn it.”

5:37 PM

“Don’t listen to a thing she says. Kite. That stupid idiot bitch doesn’t understand half the shit we’ve been through.”

“Gehahahaha! Ohhh, you’ve really got it made!” Dana.

5:42 PM

"Cop, Gordon, one of you distract him while the other grabs that magic paintbrush or whatever and heal the WOMEN!" Lelouch. "I don't take orders from you." Gordon. Gunshots.

5:46 PM

"I meant TACKLE him, not SHOOT him!" Lelouch.

5:49 PM

"Ugh..." Lelouch. "...You're really pathetic for a guy who says he wants to kill me and then harms every other woman but me."

5:51 PM

Gunshot. (edited)

“Kite stay safe okay.”

5:58 PM

Shawn can’t do anything here. He’s barely even an observer

5:59 PM

He’s been made into a bystander

“I… I don’t… wanna…g—” Dana.

Did Kite actually kill them all?

6:01 PM

God. This hurts

6:02 PM

Even if Shawn did say something to stop him, would he actually listen?

6:02 PM

If Shawn does nothing, is he complicit?

6:02 PM

If he does something, will he hurt Kite?

6:03 PM

God, what can he even do?

6:03 PM

"Kite... Please, just..."

6:03 PM

That Dana bitch probably deserved it

6:07 PM

Ugh

Lelouch sighs. "This is NOT what I needed today."

"Shut the fuck up Lelouch"

6:10 PM

Shawn is tired and frustrated. Why is this happening. Why can't things be simple

6:10 PM

He looks at Howard. He misses when he was with Kite and Howard was helping them.

6:11 PM

It's past midnight. Shawn just wants to sleep

Kite. "Just me and you now…"

"What happened, man?"

"Oh for fuck's sakes." Lelouch.

6:15 PM

"He was my ride out of here, you dick." Lelouch.

6:19 PM

"You asked, so I’ll say it. I didn’t come here for you. I didn’t come here for any of you. I came here to be a hero. To stop Jeff Johnner. When I saw you, I jumped at the opportunity for revenge. You took my bro. You took my second bro. And then… You tried to take me too. That’s unforgivable. For that… I was gonna kill you. But that 'I' doesn’t mean anything anymore." Kite. "My eye's back. My ear's back. She killed Kite. So our grudge is dead, you got that?"

...

6:25 PM

Shawn puts his head down against the desk and puts his arms over his head

6:25 PM

Second bro?

6:26 PM

Kite's dead?

6:26 PM

It was just earlier today that Shawn had a crisis over this. How he didnt know Kite.

6:27 PM

He knows Kite! He thinks he does.

6:27 PM

He wants nothing more then to be with him.

6:28 PM

Why does the gap between us feel like its widening always.

6:31 PM

"I'm... I'm sorry."

6:31 PM

Nothing mattered to Shawn other then Kite right now. But... Kite just suffered the worst thing ever for him, and Shawn wasn't there to help him through it.

6:34 PM

If Kite doesn't have that grudge against Lelouch anymore, does he still love me?

6:34 PM

God, I'm such a fucking asshole

6:35 PM

Fuck, it's not like I can do or say anything else here. What am I supposed to do?

6:35 PM

I'm still furious at Lelouch. If Kite doesn't want to be the person who does that, then I'll be the one to stick a crowbar through her chest

"...You got your revenge the minute you took away Jade. I wouldn't have gone easy on you, would've given you hell both verbally and physically. But you're invincible or whatever, and you know you're invincible. You know no matter what I did, or said, or shot, you would've been fine. And now, you're surrounded by 4 unconscious people and one dead person, because..." Lelouch. "...because of a reason that doesn't fucking exist anymore. I can't even do what I came here to do, so... I got it."

6:41 PM

"…That’s funny. I don’t feel better." Kite.

…

"Everyone’s down. Moving on to Johnner." Kite says bitterly, then a strange grating noise is heard. "You heard what I said right? About a second bro?" He pauses. "It’s fine. I’ll be your second Kite, too." "…You made it?"" Johnner says weakly.

6:43 PM

((End session))

((Saturday))

((I will try lol))

9:07 PM

((We’ll see))

"…You made it?" Johnner says weakly.

…

"Yeah. It was a piece of cake, really." Kite. "So what... You're gonna kill me now? Seems I'm really popular tonight. Must be my birthday." Johnner.

Too much is happening for Shawn to process it all

"Nah, I'm not gonna kill you. I need a name. Your boss." Kite. Johnner laughs weakly but smugly. "You sure you want me to beat it out of you? Seems like you already don't have much left in you." Kite,

What’s with that reaction?

"You couldn't get it out of me... No matter what you did." Johnner. "You sure? You already look half-dead. Do you have a death wish or something?" Kite. "...Heh. We're all slowly dying, don't you know? We're like addicts... Drunk on death." Johnner makes a strange click noise.

What was that?

2:51 PM

“Kite, be careful.”

"He just lit a cigarette." Kite whispers.

“Isn’t he like… dying?”

2:56 PM

“Get the info.”

"Just tell me your boss's name." Kite. "You see this? It's death. Sweet... Slow release. You wanna threaten me with death or pain... You really think I've ever known anything else? I live every day of my life knowing someday I'm gonna be the one biting the bullet. And to that I say.... Come at me. Throw your shot. Make it count. Maybe you'll finally be the one..." Johnner. (edited)

“He’s useless dead.”

3:03 PM

“We’re here to uproot him.”

"What?" Kite. "But... If I must say... I don't really like it being you. You're one of those special spoiled types, aren't you? Get your magic reward that tears down society's walls... Because you're just so sure you know better than anyone else. Because you've never had to suffer a day in your life, have you? You've never known what it's like to watch those you love die? You... And Lelouch... And Dana... You're just... Such spoiled brats, aren't you? I'd have liked... Dying to someone who earned it. If I had the choice." Johnner.

Earned it? What the fuck does that mean. Has he earned any kind of legitimacy after he killed countless people? Did they earn the right to die?

"Never had to suffer?" Shawn hears the mic move away from Kite, as if he's taken off the mask. "My name is Ray Elliot. I was raised by people who were part of Edlightenment. Everything I've ever had... I've lost. Even my self. Suffering's in my blood. You wanna go and brag about how much your life sucks while you sit on top of your special little gangster pile of money? Fuck you. I'm everything you could ever want to be... And I don't have to go and chainsmoke cigarettes to play victim all day."

… (edited)

"You're... What?" Johnner. "Not so funny now, is it? Now give me the fucking name!" Kite.

Kite… please be careful….

"...I can't." Johnner. "You're not some noble hero! You're the bad guy at the end of the dungeon! So don't act like you've got anything left to protect!" Kite. "I am some noble hero!" Johnner snaps.

“Don’t be afraid to threaten him.”

"What is a hero to you, huh? Someone who does what they believe in. Someone who's not afraid to love what they do... And fight for that! I've hurt people... But I've been hurt too. And I'm sure those people have hurt plenty all the same. You don't get to go and pretend you're better than me!" Johnner. Kite's voice is close again, as if the mask is back on. "Do you seriously believe that? Really? What makes anything you've done anything short of cruel and inhuman?" "Because I do it for my boss! I do it for a man I believe in... A man who chose me when I had no one else to turn to!" Johnner.

…

"And what gives him the right to choose, huh?" Kite. "Because he's god. Walking among us." Johnner. "Put me in a room with him and my crowbar, I'll show you just how mortal he is." Kite.

“Don’t threaten to kill him when we need info.”

3:32 PM

“If he thinks he’s a hero, then it’s our justice versus his justice. We’ll prove ours is the right one when we win.”

Johnner just laughs. "...It's more metaphorical than that." "Then let me make something clear for you. The only god you'll ever meet is me." Kite.

…

"If your boss is so noble and good in your eyes, why do you wanna die so bad? Get real. You don't believe in jackshit. You saw a guy be nice to you... Pick you up... And you made that your whole personality like a little whiny bitch. He made you his bitch while you sit back here and go pretend you're some noble good guy for picking up a shift in middle-management. You want to prove he's as good as you say? Give me his name. We'll do a little natural selection and see who he really is when you drag him down the land of mortals. 'Cause I sure as hell haven't seen anything that makes him sound like anything short of the devil." Kite.

Shawn can’t really describe why but what he just heard made him feel awful suddenly

"…Shuichi Maoziwam." Johnner speaks. "…What?" Howard Scott speaks.

“What???”

3:43 PM

“Wait, shit. When did you wake up?”

3:44 PM

Shawn prepares to fight

Howard is still handcuffed and can’t move. "But that’s… So obvious? Why go to such lengths to hide a secret anyone would’ve guessed as a default?" "Maoziwam? Like… Lelouch?" Kite.

“It’s Lelouch’s dad, yeah.” Into the microphone (edited)

"Press the button. He’ll need it!" Howard.

“What does it do.”

3:57 PM

“I don’t trust you, remember.”

"Heh… You really think I didn’t let that slip on purpose?" Howard scowls. "It tells the cops it’s fine to bring in all of his associates before they can react."

Shawn inspects to see if he’s lying

4:01 PM

((13))

He’s very confident. No hesitation in his claim.

“Kite, Scott is awake again.”

4:03 PM

“He says the button will tell the cops to bring in the other associates of the mob before they can react.”

4:03 PM

“Should I press it? I’m worried.”

"Ha." Kite laughs. "That's checkmate, Johnner. My partner's about to bring in everyone who's ever worked for you. And there's not gonna be any boss to save you now." Johnner sighs strangely. He sounds some mixture of content and disappointed. "...I guess that is pretty funny."

…

4:13 PM

Shawn presses the button

BANG And then static.

“Kite? Kite??”

4:16 PM

“Are you there?”

4:16 PM

“What’s going on?”

"You remember earlier? When I randomly decided to grab your suit?" Howard.

“What did you…”

4:17 PM

“What did you do!!??!!”

"I put a bomb... Inside your suit." Howard smirks awkwardly.

Shawn punches Howard

4:18 PM

He hits him again and again and again

The door opens and Shawn feels a gun raised to the back of his head. "I'm... Sorry sir." It's Kingsley. "Just in time..." Howard mumbles through the pain.

“No…”

4:19 PM

Shawn jumps on top of Howard

4:20 PM

He tries to choke him, tearing into his throat

((Roll))

((6))

Shawn is pulled off of Howard and held down by Kingsley. Howard awkwardly coughs a few times.

Shawn desperately struggles to escape. He is going to kill Howard and he’s rather die then let him leave

"Don't worry... Shawn Duveldt. I'm not gonna let you die in vain." Howard smirks awkwardly again. "I'll let you live your dream. ...The whole world's gonna know the name Advent Guard." (edited)

“FUCK YOU”

4:24 PM

“I’LL TEAR YOUR FUCKING THROAT OUT!”

4:25 PM

“And don’t fucking call me Shawn.”

"You're supposed to ask how I know your name." Howard jokes. "But then again, it's more surprising you didn't question how I could've followed you without learning who you were in the first place."

“Was this your plan the whole time?”

4:26 PM

“You fucking animal.”

"Not really... You were supposed to die too. But... I guess I can work with this. It really is nothing personal, y'know? You really were just a useful criminal. I just can't let powers like you keep running around my city. The only superpower I allow is mine: The Police. Kingsley, knock him out." Howard. "It really is nothing personal... But he's the hero." Kingsley knocks Shawn out. ((End session))

I never got to say goodbye

Harriet wakes back up just in time to watch the steel wall shut once more behind Kite. Everyone else is down. She can see the the paintbrush from this angle now.

Harriet groans, palming at her head. “What...?” She says, disoriented, and attempts to check the people around her.

They’re all severely bleeding, aside from Maria. Dana is conscious again but still bleeding.

((hi))

((Hewwo))

2:15 PM

“Are you.. okay?” Harriet asks, unsure of herself.

“D…do I look…” I look around frantically for the thing that is magic and heals people.

"Do you look what?"

“He left… why would he…? That’s not important. We… maybe he just didn’t realize who was still alive.” I’m alive. Me.

Harriet frowns. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Why did she say that? Is she stupid? “I’m bleeding… he… the guy, you saw him, before you decided it was a good time to take a nap. He started, but didn’t finish the job. Was it just…”

"Oh." Harriet says. "Yeah, I think he's gone."

“I know.”

"So... what does this mean, exactly?"

“I don’t know, it… I mean, this is the opportunity to, regroup, what we can. I need to check who…” I come to a realization. “Hah. Of course. Just my luck. One person conscious and unharmed, and it’s… I mean, no offense. Not your fault.”

"Right," Harriet says firmly. "You wouldn't want to acknowledge my, like, interiority, or any compulsion towards action or ability or capacity for violence. That wouldn't cohere very well with what you've made me out to be."

2:55 PM

Harriet waits expectantly, staring towards her hand as primed towards action or reaction, but nothing comes. A moment of relief breaking through, then quiet.

2:56 PM

"Okay. Regrouping. And.. with who? Why? I kind of don't understanding anything that's happening. Or who we're supposed to be killing. Or who you are."

I laugh, despite myself, coughing a little. “Ahh… that’s fair, very fair. Were you just… dumped in a cage and then dragged along for everything else…? I’ve been in that kind of situation before…”

"I actually woke up here," Harriet says hesitantly. "After a.. really strange dream. I thought I was dreaming this too, at first.. but I don't get to be a player in my dreams."

2:59 PM

"No offense, but you seem a lot nicer now."

“Suck my… ok, yeah, I guess I was a little… on edge. Maybe I should be right now. Am I woozy? It kind of feels like… as long as I stay awake, I’ll stay alive. So that part’s fine.” I continue scanning the area ineffectively. “My name is Dana Craig. I would’ve liked to hide that, but we’re too late for that, and I don’t have any real misgivings about you in particular… I think.”

"I'm Harriet Kadin." Harriet says. "And likewise. I feel.. better, after napping, strangely. There's this sort of clarity about me. So I'm ready to be super, super helpful."

“Mm.” I look over at how bad Ariel is. “If you see a paintbrush, let me know, I guess.”

"Oh, I saw one earlier, I think." Harriet says.

“Yeah.”

"Is it, like, a magic paintbrush? I learned magic is real recently, so I'm down with basically anything right now."

“Yeah, basically. Heals wounds. So, y’know. Practical, at the moment.”

3:11 PM

“It’s the thing Ariel used to…. Ugh.”

"Yeah, I meant to ask that too. Who's Ariel? Your girlfriend?"

“Haha… y…yeah.” I admit, as though it’s something embarrassing.

3:17 PM

Harriet says this with her mouth somehow.

3:17 PM

"I'm cool with lesbians." She says, with the tone of someone delivering great wisdom.

Dana is still bleeding out.

“That’s nice.” I’m still bleeding out. For note. “I mean, technically, I… Ariel isn’t one. She throws herself at anything that moves.” I would probably be a bit more careful with my words in more ideal situations.

"That's also cool." Harriet says. "Very feminist, I think... maybe? I had a strong opinion on that at one point. I forgot what it was, though."

3:21 PM

"Are you okay?"

“I’m still bleeding out.” I roll my eyes. “Sure seems like you had an opinion on…ghrk.” My… head hurts. Let’s avoid that area for now… “So you really have no idea why you ended up here? Do you know… the guy we found with you?”

"Yeah, kind of." Harriet says, frowning. "I keep having dreams about him. Also, he might be my imaginary friend who I used to.... get to help me with things. But I think he might actually be a real guy, and not just a brain ghost I invented. Which is comforting, because that means I'm not crazy yet."

??? runs in.

Shawn(Wearing the beetle suit) stands up from a hiding spot and walks up to ???.

2:40 PM

((Don't change channels))

"H... ell... o?"

2:40 PM

"Help me!!"

"Don't yell! Hasn't anyone ever told you about stealth!"

I lower my voice. "...No?"

The sound of a gunshot rings out nearby.

2:44 PM

"It's like... When you do something quiet. So no one knows you're doing it."

2:45 PM

"Yeah, yeah I know." More gunshots.

"Who's being shot?"

"I dunno! But I'll get to them later. Tell me what you've been up to."

2:53 PM

"Fine, fine... Do you remember who you are now?"

"......"

2:53 PM

"Uh...... no?"

"Then what've you been doing for a week?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Ugh... Just tell me. Are you pro-Johnner or anti-Johnner?" (edited)

"I'm... uh..."

2:57 PM

"I was going to overthrow him."

"Why?"

"I agreed to."

"What does that mean?"

"I was going to kill him, and then I'd take over his job, and someone else would take over the upper boss."

"Who?"

"Alexi."

"Me neither."

"What?"

"Does she have a last name?"

"No."

"This is going nowhere."

"Why are you asking me about this?"

3:23 PM

"Just let me out..."

"Shouldn't I move on to Lelouch?"

"Why would you do that?" (edited)

"Give us a reason to let you out. We're heroes, y'know? Not just against Johnner specifically."

"I need it to not die."

"You mean the mob?"

"What?"

3:31 PM

"No?"

"Then what do you mean?"

"I mean I'll... die from not eating enough. If I can't get out of the cage. I think."

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither." He turns around. "I'll come back to save you later."

"What!? What am I supposed to do?"

He doesn't respond and leaves.

"Hey!"

3:50 PM

"Wait!!!!!" I yell.

No response.

"Come back! Come back... come back......"

3:55 PM

I lie there, hands-on-head, and keep muttering to myself.

The foundations of the building shake, causing the cell to break open partially.

I suddenly stop muttering, push myself up and try to get out.

??? is free.

I run out of the area and try to find someone else.

??? arrives in the living space he frequently saw as Marco Gould. One of the doors, the office he briefly entered once, has several bullet holes through the door.

I look inside the office.

The entire place is trashed. At the back, where a bookshelf once was, is an open elevator shaft.

I walk up to the shaft and try to call an elevator.

The button for this requires a key.

I sigh and walk out of the office. I try to make my way out of the building.

The mall is currently locked because it's the middle of the night. Every exit is covered by large metal shutters.

I sigh and go to Marco's bed.

4:26 PM

I lie in there and try to sleep.

??? cannot fall asleep.

"Ugh... Damn it..." I groan. (edited)

4:28 PM

I get up and look around the entire building in an attempt to find anyone else. (edited)

4:29 PM

(While doing this, I also look for any weapons to take with me.) (edited)

((Roll))

((11))

??? does not find anyone else in the whole building, but does find some small guns.

"Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I grip my head firmly. "I can't think." I take the small guns and, gripping them, start lying in bed again, just to try to pass the time.

((End session))

((No session this week. Maybe. Idk. You can come but idk if anything will happen other than ??? laying in bed))

??? manages to fall asleep. He wakes back up in a similar situation.

I get up and try to leave the building again.

It'll be morning soon.

I shoot at the metal shutters.

??? successfully creates some small dents.

I kick at the dents.

((Roll))

((2))

They can't even make a dent.

"Uuugh."

3:18 PM

I go over to the open elevator shaft and look down. Can I see anything below?

The elevator itself is at the bottom, and it's ceiling has been broken through.

I try to climb down into the elevator.

((Roll))

((19))

??? makes it down to the elevator. It opens directly into some kind of service tunnel.

I run through the service tunnel.

It splits off into 2 directions, left or right.

Left.

??? arrives in a room with everyone who visited his cell earlier except Beetle, lying on the floor. Almost all of them are bleeding out, except for Harriet and another girl. Dana and Harriet are the only conscious ones.

3:31 PM

((Oh right Jade is also not here))

3:31 PM

((Forgot to mention this))

“FUCK!”

"That's my brain ghost." Harriet says.

"You!!"

3:29 PM

I shoot at Lelouch.

((Roll))

“Ohhhh, nonono…” I briefly have a realistic depiction of a panic attack.

((19))

??? successfully shoots the person who is already bleeding out.

I hope they die.

“AGH! What are you fucking doing? If you want that, just wait for time to finish the job, shithead!”

"What?"

3:33 PM

"What are you talking about, Dana?"

"What the fuck?" Harriet says. "Why are we shooting each other!! Don't do that!!!"

She gets up and stands between ??? and Lelouch. "Please... Don't hurt her."

"Too late."

3:34 PM

"Who are you?"

“Forget it. Your ‘friend’ here’s a l….” Hm. “Maybe we should be making noise…”

"H-How do I save her... Please let- Please let me do something right!"

Ugggghhhh.

Harriet looks around, confused, her eyes wide. "Who the fuck is Lelouch? What's happening right now?"

"What? Nobody said that name?"

I laugh. “And you didn’t even know her… oh, man. This is all so fucking stupid, I’m sorry!”

I stare at Harriet. "Stop talking."

"No, no, I've heard that name before. I'm hearing it right now." Harriet's hand goes fiercely to her face. She bites onto the meat of her palm, swollen over her mouth, stopping her from speaking.

“M-Maria Stanley, right? I remember because that’s not a real fucking last name. There’s… there’s an item around here that can heal people…”

I shoot at Dana.

3:39 PM

"Stop saying fucking nonsense."

((Roll))

"I agree we should all stop saying nonsense," Harriet says weakly from behind her stained hand.

"Where is it?"

((15))

Dana is shot.

“Agh! Hey, if you want to shoot Dana Craig, why not point the gun the opposite way, ya mental defective?!”

"That wasn't me."

“Some of us value our lives, and also… have the slightest clue what’s going on right now!”

"What’s the thing that’ll save her!" Maria repeats.

"I would like to know what's happening also."

"Don't say anything about anything that would 'save' Lelouch."

3:43 PM

"I forbid you."

“It’s a paintbrush.” I stare at the [SLUR], flipping him off with intent as I continue to say nonsense. “I don’t fucking care about Lelouch. But if it’s either she’s saved or I die, the choice is really easy.”

3:45 PM

“Actually, I do care. I fucking hate that woman. She’s the only one who rivals you in speed at reaching my shit list. But I don’t use that to, SHOOT AT PEOPLE for MILDLY ANNOYING ME, like some psychopath…”

"You don't?"

“Yes, yes, hahaaa… it’s because I had a gun, yes… they must have thought I was like that, thought I was an enemy, but they were wrooooong….”

3:46 PM

“I was being cautious!”

Maria pulls out the paintbrush from some random things and heals Lelouch. Lelouch doesn’t move. "Ms. Lelouch…?" She drops the paintbrush and it rolls over into Dana’s reach.

I take it!!! I take it and heal myself! If I can. I forget if that’s possible. I take it, at any rate.

Dana is healed.

I try to take the paintbrush from Dana. (edited)

Yes, okay. I go to Ariel. I save her. She’s not dead. There’s absolutely no way. I’m not having a life like that, where she perishes in the stupidest way possible.

Ariel is healed.

???

I try to take the paintbrush from Dana. (edited)

((Roll))

((Still unconscious, though?))

((18))

((also do i roll like in classic Grapple Contest or is it just one))

Dana Craig

((Still unconscious, though?))

((Yes))

Dana Craig

((also do i roll like in classic Grapple Contest or is it just one))

((Also yes))

((10))

Harriet remains on the floor.

??? has the brush.

I try to use it on myself.

((Where))

((on the head i guess)) (edited)

The bandages are properly attached again.

"What!?"

3:58 PM

I try to snap the paintbrush.

??? instantly passes out.

Maria takes the paintbrush and heals Gordon.

Oh. Yeah, okay, fine.

4:01 PM

“That was… convenient.”

"What... I don't understand.." Harriet says.

“Maybe it’s not worth understanding. He is simply a force of nature.” I chuckle.

Maria heals the cop. Unfortunately, he is already dead.

4:07 PM

No he isn't.

4:07 PM

What?

4:07 PM

Why are you arguing with this now?

((Finally, something important enough for the diegetic narration!!))

The cop is intended to be a minor background figure. He can't die here.

4:08 PM

Why could he not? The fact he's irrelevant is exactly why he should get kicked out before the important stuff.

4:09 PM

No one else has died from that fight. If he did, this would turn a rather pivotal moment into the The Cop death scene. His death would cement his importance.

4:09 PM

That's ridiculous. That's not how that works.

I wonder if everyone actually survived. I think this. Me. Dana. Normally. It would be pretty impressive odds. Or I drastically overestimated the strength of the crowbar. “Is that everyone?”

Between the 2 of us, which one understands fiction and how it operates? Everything you learned you learned from me.

4:10 PM

Ugh. Fine. The cop is also healed. Hurray for lack of stakes.

I… check if I have the physical strength to carry Ariel, if that’s ultimately needed right now.

The paintbrush is pulled out of Maria's hands by the air itself.

Yeah, sure. Why not.

"Oh." Harriet says firmly. "I get it now. Bastard."

“Is someone invisible, actually? That would make sense. I can’t believe how far I’ve fallen to say that and mean it.” (edited)

"Don't do that!!!"

4:15 PM

Harriet frowns. "Hit yourself in the face."

Ariel wakes up to Dana carrying her. She smiles. "My knight in shining armour."

“Ehhhah…” Don’t fucking drop her, holy shit, idiot. I stand there awkwardly for longer than necessary before realizing this is no longer an action with value and lowering her to the ground.

"Okay. Did I.. only just now realize? You're not doing anything I say because I want to. You're doing it because you have to, is that right? You have no choice."

I… cautiously listen to this conversation.

"I get it now. You never were the person I wanted you to be. But you're someone who doesn't have a choice in the matter, which I guess is better. You're kind of sick, you know?"

Haha, what?

4:20 PM

Thank god my relationships are healthy.

Maria looks at the empty air Harriet is talking to. "Are... You like me?"

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on right now?” My patience exhausted, I YIIK a little.

Ehn/PC

Maria looks at the empty air Harriet is talking to. "Are... You like me?"

Harriet frowns. "Who are you?"

Dana Craig

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on right now?” My patience exhausted, I YIIK a little.

"I'm talking to my brain ghost."

“I thought that was.” I point at the unconscious(?) ???.

"Yes, but he's also here."

“Sure.” I survey the room. “Uhh… guess he’s still in that damn bunker…”

The bunker explodes, sending the walls flying at them. Everyone loses consciousness.

((GOOD SESSION))

((Send your messages here pichuis))

4:06 PM

"I don't understand!"

4:10 PM

I push myself up and try to take the paintbrush again.

Also the cop is healed.

???

I push myself up and try to take the paintbrush again.

((Roll))

((where should i put my messages))

((Both I guess. If you just put it in the Dana channel I'll transcribe with images but it'd be easier if you did both))

((19))

??? has the paintbrush.

Ehn/PC

((Both I guess. If you just put it in the Dana channel I'll transcribe with images but it'd be easier if you did both))

((ogey))

4:14 PM

"Oh." Harriet says firmly. "I get it now. Bastard."

I try to eat the paintbrush.

"Don't do that!!!"

??? is forced to not do that.

"Aaaaagh!"

"Aaarrgrhhh!" I splutter inexplicably.

Harriet frowns. "Hit yourself in the face."

??? hits themself in the face.

"NOooo!!!"

4:16 PM

I collapse to the floor and scream.

"Okay. Did I.. only just now realize? You're not doing anything I say because I want to. You're doing it because you have to, is that right? You have no choice."

"Shut uuup!!"

"I get it now. You never were the person I wanted you to be. But you're someone who doesn't have a choice in the matter, which I guess is better. You're kind of sick, you know?"

"I have nothing to do with you!"

4:21 PM

I try to sneak behind Harriet and snap her neck.

The bunker explodes, sending the walls flying at them. Everyone loses consciousness.

Ashley wakes up in her bed the next morning, for real this time. "Ashley...?" Raymond calls out to her from outside the room.

She takes in a gasp of breath and wipes some of the cold sweat off her forehead. Did she forget to breathe while she was asleep? Did she- No, don't think about that dream. Do anything but that. You are Ashley Laurier, waking up on a normal day in your normal life. "Oh! Morning, dad!

What's up?" she calls back while getting out of bed and going through her closet for clothes to wear today. She becomes dimly aware that she's been wearing the same clothes for the past couple of days. Her heart sinks a little. ……But it's okay! Today she'll put herself together better than before, and she's going to have a good day.

"Please come downstairs. Your uh... Your mother and I need to talk to you."

She's going to have a good day. She's going to have a good day. She's going to have a good day. She's going to have a good day. "A-Alright. Is it okay if I take a shower first?" She lays her selected clothes out on her bed.

"Oh, uh... Right that. Well, we do have a guest. So like, yeah..." The sounds of his leaving footsteps can be heard.

"Um-…" Ashley trails off, now unable to ask for clarification about that statement. Well, it's probably fine if she just takes a shower now, no huge deal. Not like she takes a super long time in there. After leaving her room and grabbing a towel from the hallway closet, she closes the door to the bathroom behind her, takes off the clothes in which she spent the last… however many days in, and turns the water on as she steps into the shower.

This happens.

Her thoughts end up turning to her friends, inevitably. They're… certainly not pleasant thoughts. It isn't fun being caught in some kind of issue with her three closest friends, regardless of whoever's fault it is. (Well, in Autumn's case it's absolutely 100% not Autumn's fault, but that much is already obvious.) But what she needs to focus on right now isn't how bad things are going– she needs to think about how she can make everything better. Fixing things is what she does best. That being said, I don't exactly know how to actually DO that. I can't remember the last time I was in any situation this hard to resolve, let alone three of them at once. Have I really fucked things so far beyond repair that- Not helping. Not helping. Maybe what I need to do is think about this from a different angle? How bad is what's happening to me right now, really? All I need to do is find a way to make it seem more manageable, and then maybe I'll feel better about dealing with it… Well, it's not the first time Autumn's been upset with me, right? Even before this week, we've had our share of… disagreements where she does something I feel weird about, but I have to be the one to apologize afterwards for the stupid reactions I end up having. And what's always happened, every time? We make up and stay friends, don't we? Even if things are different now, even if I tried to be… more than friends with her, I've made stupid mistakes like that before. Autumn is kind. Too kind, maybe… But I have to believe that this can just be water under the bridge like all the other times and that things can go back to normal. I have to try, at least. The Twitter thing, too… Definitely not the first time someone's come after me there, right? Like, obviously never on this scale, but I'm not on Twitter for the million other strangers I don't know who only just followed me this week. I'm there for my oomfies like Junie! And Avery! And Lio! They've been there for me since the start anyways, and I'm sure the others'd get it like Junie did if I explained what's going on to them. Not even the first time someone in our circle's had to remake an account after shitty drama– like, that time Lio had to remake when freaks from one of her old fandoms were harassing her and got her old account suspended. It's just like that! I should just make a new account and DM everyone I still want to add on there. Mm, but I'll have to change my username… I really liked loveloveguilty… She shrugs off the thought somewhat dejectedly. And, well, Aura… ……. Ashley suddenly notices the shower has been running for a pretty long time! Oops! Spurred out of her thoughts by this, she quickly finishes washing herself and turns the shower off. She steps out and hastily dries herself off with the towel while trying to listen to any noise outside the bathroom through the door. (edited)

It’s silent.

Damn. Wrapping the towel around her, Ashley hurries back through the hallway into her room and gets dressed as fast as she can, blowdries her hair for probably less time than is necessary to get it fully dry, and otherwise hastily gets ready for her day. She feels bad keeping whoever's downstairs waiting, but she really wants to not neglect her health today. She'll just apologize when she gets down there! With that, she swings open the door to her room and practically flies downstairs.

Father Morgan is seated at the dining room, along with Ashley’s parents. He looks fairly confused, while the other 2 look very serious. "Please take a seat, Ashley." Lilia.

Huh? Her stomach drops. Why is he here? "Uh… Ah, alright!" She tries to act natural. Shit, she forgot to apologize for the wait.

"We heard the details about what happened yesterday from your friend, Autumn." Raymond. "It’s… Made it clear to us that we clearly haven’t done a good enough job raising you." Lilia.

"Haha, what?" She can feel herself growing more nervous by the second. "I mean, I think you guys are pretty good..."

"No. No, we’re not… Ashley. But… We’d like it if you heard us out and understood our side. Why we’ve never been very good parents." Raymond. "When we had you… We weren’t ready for a child. We didn’t want one. We’ve just… Never known how to raise one." Lilia.

"........" Ashley falls silent.

"We wanted to let you grow on your own, but that’s clearly not working." Lilia. "Yeah, well… I personally don’t think I would’ve ended up arrested. But like your mother said… We don’t know how to raise a child. It’s not really our fault." Raymond. "We don’t want you to suffer because of us, though… So we brought the father here to save you. We’re repaying our mistake, so don’t feel guilty." Lilia.

FUUUCCKK. She KNEW IT. "Wh-! That's..." She looks desperately over at Morgan for his reaction to this, in place of words. He doesn't want to do this any more than she does, right? Right?? (edited)

Father Morgan very clearly does not. "Yes, umm… Well." He prays half-heartedly. "Your sins are absolved… And such."

Phew. "Um, th-thank you!" She bows, then realizes that's probably not what you're supposed to do in response. Whatever, it's a show of respect, right?

"Right." Father Morgan turns to them. "This… Doesn’t really solve the larger problems, you know?" "Well, she’s old enough. She’ll find someone…" Raymond. Autumn suddenly strolled right into the house. "Oh… Am I interrupting something?"

Ashley jolts in her seat, immediately forgetting whatever she was going to think or say in response to her dad. "Autumn!" She scrambles to stand up. "Uh, hi! It's fine! To be here, I mean. Regardless of, whether you were, interrupting something." Ohhh my god, stay calm.

"Great. Can you come with me, Ashley?" Autumn smiles as usual. "Well, we were kind of in the middle of something…" Raymond. "No, no… I think we’re all done." Father Morgan says uncomfortably.

"Sure!" She is so, so weak to that smile. Any hope the others in the room had of her actually taking in what they're saying is gone now. (edited)

"Good." Autumn walks out.

Ashley follows her without any hesitation.

"Ashley-" Lilia's voice is cut off by the door closing. Autumn walks into the forest.

Huh. "Hey, why are we heading here?" Ashley asks, still following her nonetheless.

Autumn doesn’t answer.

She fidgets a little uncomfortably, but keeps going. "Oh! Um, I've been thinking about what happened, you know, yesterday... Look, I know the way I've been acting lately has been pretty dumb. I feel like I've embarrassed you more in the past week than in the entire rest of my life… I think it's because I've been scared of losing what we have, haha…" She clears her throat. "A-Anyways, I just woke up from a pretty rough dream this morning. And it made me think… maybe I need to stop worrying about that kind of thing. Maybe I should try to trust that we can work things out together, instead of worrying about messing everything up all the time. Since, well, I think trying to correct for that just makes everything worse."

Autumn doesn’t say anything and keeps smiling as she walks, but her hand grips into a fist.

"I mean, if you're upset by anything I'm doing, I'll definitely listen!" Ashley doesn't notice Autumn making a fist, but hastily adds this anyway. "It's not like I want to totally stop looking out for any mistakes I might make or anything– it's just, like, we shouldn't default to stressing ourselves out about problems we could solve if we worked together, right?" She hesitates. "Um, if that's okay with you, of course."

Autumn abruptly changes the subject. "Do you believe in the death penalty?"

"Do I- Huh?" The question catches her off guard. Of all the things for Autumn to say, she certainly didn't expect this. "Uhhh... I guess? But I think it's something probably only the worst of the worst deserve. Like, yeah, the world would probably be a lot happier without bigots and pedophiles and all, but a lot of people do bad things for reasons that don't deserve death. Most of the time, I think people... probably aren't that bad."

"…I don’t." Autumn stops once they reach the top of a small cliff that overlooks the rest of the forest. "…It’s too kind to them. They get to escape all of the consequences of their actions… Never feeling a shred of the pain they inflict on other people. They just sit back… And escape all the pain of living. It’s too much of a kindness… For someone like you." Autumn grabs Ashley’s shoulders and stares into her eyes. It’s the same usual expression she’s always given her.

Ashley feels like there's something wrong. Like it was always there, but she's just now noticing it. It's hard to tell whether it's her or the entire rest of her life instead. What? That doesn't even make sense. But what Autumn's saying doesn't make sense either... If she's looking at me just like normal, and she's touching me just like normal, shouldn't that make me happy? Today was supposed to be a normal day... She does her best nerve-wracked impression of a smile. "Wh... What do you mean? Hey, are you... Are you feeling okay? We're going to be okay, right?" She doesn't understand why she's saying this. It shouldn't be scary, right? (edited)

Autumn turns her around until she faces the ground below. "I understand why you’d want this, you know? To just fall and let it all fade away. But you don’t deserve it. You don’t have my permission to kill yourself, do you understand that? You can’t die yet." She grimaces. "…Because you haven’t paid enough. This sort of thing is reserved for good people."

That familiar tingling feeling whenever she looks over a big drop creeps up through her hands into the rest of her body. "Hhkh-" She tries to say something back, something quick and painless to deny it, but her voice catches in her throat and she only gets out a struggling intake of breath. Obviously this is what she's wanted this whole time. Even when she hasn't been consciously thinking about it, the feeling has stuck around inside of her for... for... how long? Oh, fuck, she doesn't want to think about 'how long'. She doesn't want to think about any of this. Why can't it just be easier? Now that she's staring over the edge of the cliff, she realizes she doesn't want to kill herself. It's too much of a choice, too real, and Autumn's right, she can't... allow herself to decide that. If only she didn't have to choose. If only she was already dead. If only she'd never been here in the first place. Ashley's body moves on its own, turning around and lurching forward to grab Autumn in a desperate hug.

Autumn is too shocked to stop it, but she doesn't hug Ashley back. "...What exactly do you think you're doing?"

The guilt sets back in with a sting. Her hug becomes a lot looser, but she's still faintly holding on. "You said that... I don't have your permission. So... does that mean that if I- if I fell backwards right now, you'd... ...?" Her sentence slowly devolves into muffled mumbling out of embarrassment.

"It means you're not allowed to die." She looks down at Ashley angrily. "I know what you did, Ashley. Why you came to this town to spread your poison."

"What?" Ah, there's the guilt in full force again. As though her hands were being burned, she lifts them off Autumn's body and steps back, putting all of her focus on following instructions. Don't die. Maybe if she stops being so fucking clingy and pathetic like this, it'll get better. It was just a hug. She hasn't ruined the conversation yet.

"Your parents told me. Right from the start. Did you really think you could trick me like that? That I'd ever believe you loved me? You're a horrible liar."

"Wait, what? Wait- wait, wait, wait!! What do you mean 'trick you'?! Autumn, it's not a lie that I'm in love with you! What did my parents say to make you believe that??"

"Stop trying to trick me! You're a horrible person and you know it! You ruined my life!"

.......... The silence that follows is complete and all-consuming to a point where it's difficult to register or describe. Nothingness erupts from her mouth at a rate too slow to expel all of the screaming emptiness inside her head. All the world around her becomes hollow, even as she still sees her surroundings with agonizing clarity. Words don't feel real anymore, either. If Autumn's saying something to her still, she certainly can't make out what it is, let alone respond. Why does it have to be like this? If it's like this, why does Autumn want her to live at all?

"...Don't try to deny it! Every single day of my life you pretended to be my friend while you ruined my life! And now... Now you made Sam leave! The only person who... The only person..." Her attempts to get the words out seem almost like vomiting. Eventually she gives up. "So now... Now you're going to live. Whether you want to or not."

Autumn turns away and leaves. Each step is slow and hesitant. (edited)

No. She can't let her walk away again. "Wait!" It's a short, desperate noise that almost sounds more like the cry of an animal than a word from the English language.

Autumn keeps walking away. "That didn't go very well." Ehn spoke up from behind Ashley.

A louder, even less human noise leaves Ashley's mouth as she instinctively twists her body around to throw a furious punch in the direction of that THING'S voice.

It just strikes through Ehn and hits the ground. Ehn gives a performative "Ouch."

As usual, all the accumulated pain causes her to crumple to the ground. And, as usual, she starts crying again. She doesn't let Ehn hear her sob. At least she can deny it that satisfaction. "WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" she screams. Today was supposed to be fucking normal! She was supposed to fucking work things out!!! Why can't she kill herself? She has to kill herself so badly that her mind starts racing through all the ways she could do it. It's just the tiniest bit soothing to imagine it– the pain coursing through her, the release, the blood dripping down her body. A welcome distraction that feels even the tiniest bit like it could solve anything. But it can't. She can't, because she's trapped here. In this body and world that both hate her as much as she hates them. Of course she couldn't make anything go back to normal when it never was in the first place, all because of her. She wants to tear the heads off the shoulders of every fucking person that hurt her and the ones she loved to make things this way. She wants to explode into infinitely tiny pieces that become dust in the wind. She struggles to stand up. Her breathing is quick and on fire; every limb she has is shaking. She tries to stand up.

"Is that any way to treat your benefactor? Really, I’ve done nothing to make you hate me."

She glares at it with the fury of a hundred suns. If it'd given her the ability to kill people by looking at them, there's no doubt in her mind that it would be a miserable white stain on the ground by now. No, it wouldn't even exist. She has to figure out a way to kill this fucking thing. "What… the fuck… do you want." Her words vibrate with anger. Fuck, that's just her voice shaking. Fuck. (edited)

"To help you, obviously!"

It takes all she has to not take another swing at it. "Wh-What are you talking about??"

"It may surprise your shallow perception of me, but I do actually pity you, y’know?"

"I don't want your pity. Go waste it on someone else."

She groans. "The point is… I’ll let you skip to the end, without all the drama. I can tell you where to go to solve all your problems. Aura’s family, Autumn’s… emotions. I’ll even skip the actual specific instructions because we both already know you’d ignore them anyway." (edited)

"Aura's-?" She shakes her head. "No, you still think I want to 'solve' Autumn's emotions?! Even after what happened the last time you suggested that?! And you still think you understand me well enough to tell me what to do. You're damn right I wouldn't follow any of your instructions when all they've done is make my life worse!"

"So you want Autumn to be that upset with you forever? I’m not telling you to brainwash her, which you ASKED me for by the way… You have me to thank for you not doing something that stupid. I’m saying you can convince her you’re a good person. There are no problems in this universe that weren’t designed to be solvable. If you didn’t already believe in that, then no wonder you hate god so much."

"......" Ashley stops to think about this. The smug little asshole is always up to something, so there's no doubt it's got an ulterior motive up its sleeve here too. The problem is... she doesn't have many other options, and as much as she hates to admit it, Ehn hasn't always been out to ruin her life specifically. And... well... it IS true that Ehn stopped her from fucking everything up with Autumn before. Aaauughhh, this is so fucking impossible to deal with!!! What if she's just been hallucinating this happening to her all this time, somehow? What if Sam talking to her about this thing was just something she made up, and everything she did with any kind of superpowers was fake, too? "...You're saying you're not gonna be doing any mind control this time?"

"All I’m telling you to do… Is to go to Avengard, and meet with someone. That person’s ability is all you’ll need to fix things! I don’t much care if you make friends with the owner or steal it, it should be entertaining either way."

"Hey, that's not what I asked! Tell me you're not going to work your mind control powers on me or anyone else!" What kind of directions even are those, anyway?! There's no way I can just pick whoever this person is out of a crowd! (edited)

"I obviously can't promise that. Without those favors, I might as well not exist. And you can stop worrying about yourself, I already had to waste your favor. I can't just control you again."

"So at least I'll be safe… probably…" she mutters to herself. Ugh, she'd do anything for a simple, straightforward, reliable set of instructions right about now. If Autumn was here to tell her how to fix things, she'd tell Ashley exactly what to do and exactly how to do it, and it'd be perfect. She wishes she could just have Autumn tell her what to do again. It's all she can do to just… try this and hope it works… Even if… "If you want me to head all the way to Avengard, can't you at least tell me who I'm supposed to be looking for? Starting this search across Avengard without a name is like telling me to find a needle in a haystack."

"Oh I'll tell you when you get there, don't worry. I just enjoy the suspense." She smirked.

Ashley rolls her eyes in exasperation. "And you expect me to get there how, exactly? 'Hey mom and dad! I know everything I've done lately makes you disappointed in me and you just tried to hand me off to the church to fix me, but how about we take a trip back to the most miserable place I've ever lived?!' You think that'll go over well??"

"Call a taxi, or take the bus… Who cares? That’s not the hard part."

"So you just... want me to go there alone?" Considering things logically, even if her parents did head there with her, they probably wouldn't look out for her enough for it to matter anyways. But the thought of being by herself in that place... If she was being honest, it was terrifying. For more reasons than just the potential loneliness. At least if her parents were there, maybe they'd annoy her enough to distract her.

"Not… Quite. You have to bring someone. That’s the hard part." Ehn jumps up on Ashley’s shoulder and whispers into her ear. "Do you think your words alone could get Aura to follow you?"

Instinctively, Ashley tries to shake Ehn off of her. "What?! That's- No, she… Her parents would probably kill her if I had her leave home again. Assuming they- that they…" Assuming they didn't already, right? That's what you'd say if you weren't too spineless to even think about it.

"Well, that’s why you have to bring her! Once you have that ability, you’ll be able to resolve everything and keep her away from them."

Would that work? She thinks about how eager Aura was to follow her to the church the other day. ...Maybe it would. If everything's riding on this, do either of us have any other choice? The longer I wait to make a decision, the worse everything's going to get... so even if I wait here longer to find a better solution, the result might just end up being the same as what'd happen if I come back from Avengard empty-handed. Besides, saving Aura from her family AND convincing Autumn to come around on me at the same time is something I don't know if I'd ever figure out myself. But... there's no way this doesn't come with a catch. Even if this does end up helping me out, there's no fucking way that Ehn is doing this out of the kindness of its heart. It has to have something it wants to achieve by sending me on this errand, and I need to figure it out before I play right into its hands. Maybe I don't have a choice besides going through with this, but there could still be a way to avoid completely playing into its hands. Or... paws. Whatever. I wish this could've at least been brought up yesterday. With school tomorrow, I'll only have this one day to head over to Avengard and meet whoever Ehn's talking about before I catch a bus back here. I can't afford to miss anything... If there's anything I have to do without making a single mistake, it's this. For the first time in this conversation, she looks Ehn in the eyes. "This is something I can do within the day, right?"

"Well, I guess that depends on how fast you are. But really, what’s a day going to change? You really think your parents are going to care to check if you show up at school tomorrow or something? You could vanish for a decade and they wouldn’t notice." Ehn hops around to her other shoulder. "You know… You’re sort of a genius. In the only way that counts, really. You’ve learned empathy and the desire to help people… Don’t you know that’s the most important lesson of all? What else is school gonna teach you that you need so badly? I never went to school, and I’m the smartest person I’ve ever met! The only thing that’s waiting at school for you tomorrow if you haven’t completed this is an even more upset Autumn." She looks Ashley in the eyes as well. "Of course… None of that will matter if you’re quick enough."

"I..." Ashley tries not to let her reaction to that show on her face. "I didn't ask for your opinion. Maybe you don't have to worry about the consequences of not going to school, but I do. It's not about whether I'm getting anything out of it." Mentally, she runs through a list of the things she'll probably need for this trip. Something to defend herself with... Enough money to pay for a trip there and back, which she's pretty sure she does have... Actually... "Before I go, can you tell me what happened to my jacket? That'd probably be the most useful thing I could bring."

"Hmm… Would that be cheating…?" Ehn thinks. "Eh, why not. Autumn took it. Good luck convincing her to give it back when she’s like this though."

That... makes sense, I guess. "Whatever. I don't need it for this anyways." It's now or never, then. "Anything else you wanna tell me before I go?"

"Nope." She stays on Ashley's shoulder.

"Ugh, can you at least go away for now then?"

"That's... Not how it works."

"What do you mean that's not- Fucking, whatever. Stay if that's what you want!" She throws up her hands in exasperation before starting to run back to her house. (edited)

Ehn follows until Ashley gets back into town, at which point she finally hops off and leaves. Ashley arrives back at her house.

Upon making it back home, she starts looking through the windows to check if her parents are still inside. (edited)

They don't seem to be,

…Alright. Still, she tries to enter as quietly as possible in case they're still around. She carefully looks around the house as she walks towards the drawer in the kitchen with all the knives.

She finds the drawer with millions knives.

Her parents still aren't nearby, right?

They don’t seem to be.

As efficiently as she can, she takes the sharpest knife she can find from the drawer, closes it, and heads for her room holding it nonchalantly by her side.

Her room looks normal. No one is inside.

That's good, at least… She carefully places the knife in an easily-unzippable pocket in the front of her backpack. It's okay. I'm not going to have to use it. As she's doing this, she realizes for the first time that she never took out the gas mask or the bowling ball. Shit. Well, the mask isn't too bad at least, but the bowling ball is another story. With any luck, the school probably won't have assumed theft over only one missing ball, but now she'll have to return it without being seen when people are almost definitely actively looking for it. She'll worry about that tomorrow, she supposes. Lastly, she opens her closet and rifles through it to find the oversized jacket her parents got her a year ago. She's lucky she never grew into it like they said she would – it's just big enough that she's almost completely obscured when she puts the hood on, without being too inconvenient. For once she's glad she didn't throw this away when she bought her new jacket. She stuffs it inside the backpack too. Finally, with all that settled, she walks out of her room and down the stairs to leave for Aura's place.

Her parents' car pulls into the driveway as she leaves the house.

Oh well. Being seen leaving isn't too bad since there's no way they know where she's going, and it's better than them getting home while she was still preparing. She breaks into a run away from the house just so they can't intercept her.

"Ash-" was the only syllable Ashley heard before getting out of earshot. She made it the rest of the way to Aura's house uneventfully.

Before she walks up to the door, she tries looking through the windows to see who's around. If anyone besides Aura ends up coming to the door, their chances of going to Avengard together are gone. (edited)

((Roll))

((10))

Ashley can see Aura’s mother through the window.

Ugh, alright. Definitely too risky to knock. Instead, she pulls out her phone and opens up her text messages with Aura.

hi!

hiya!

whatcha doin

She has to start off nonchalant. If Aura's being watched by her parents, or her brother, or she can't talk for any other reason, hopefully she'll realize that now's the time to imply something like that.

nyathing much

…Hopefully that means everything's all clear.

are u at home rn? i came to see you

3:58 PM

wanna meet outside

you did?

4:00 PM

i mean

nyou did?

yeah!

Aura runs out of the house.

Ack, that was fast. She briefly tries to hide or at least make herself inconspicuous in case anyone follows Aura.

((Roll))

((One

))

Ashley trips and falls to the ground as she tries to hide. "There nyou are!" Aura smiles. "…Aurora?" Thomas’s voice comes from the direction of the house. (edited)

DAMN it!! As quickly as she can, Ashley gets up. "Don't let him see me, c'mon!" She starts running away from the house.

"Huh? Why?" Aura follows after her.

"I mean, the last time you left your place to hang out with me..." No, there's no point in bringing that back up. "I mean― they just don't need to know." Is she far enough away from the Nielsens' place yet? She looks behind her.

She seems to be. "Oh… Umm… Okay. I can keep a secwet!"

"Thanks." Calming down from that close call, she realizes that she didn't exactly strategically pick a direction to run in. Of course, she still recognizes it as her neighborhood, but she's not sure where she'd go from here to catch a bus to Avengard. She pulls out her phone and looks up 'buses to avengard near me'.

There's only 1 bus every 2 hours. The stop for them is about 20 minutes away on foot, and the next bus is in an hour and a half.

Alright, the two of them should be able to make that. Now she just has to… actually explain what's going on. First of all, it IS possible I could just tell the truth and have her believe it. Aura herself was the one I demonstrated those superpowers on, back in the church when– The taste of that fish reenters her mouth through memory, and her hand shoots to her mouth to push back another wave of nausea. Okay, maybe don't think about that. The point is, she has an actual reason to believe me. But not even I know what Ehn really wants with the two of us in Avengard, and there's probably a pretty good chance that it'd freak Aura out to know her trip to this city is because of some stranger with unknown intentions. If we're doing this together, it's me she's choosing to trust, so I have to be the one in control of the situation. Why would I want to take her to Avengard myself, though? It's not like I'd have thought of this idea if Ehn didn't put it in my head. I guess I could just tell her that I know someone there who can help us, couldn't I? It'd make it seem like my own idea, and it IS technically true… but… No, I can't tell her that either. Every time I've come to her saying I want to help, she's always pushed me away. Aura doesn't want my help – or maybe she just doesn't trust that I can do anything for her, and… in the position she's in, it's not hard to imagine why she'd think that. Then what am I supposed to tell her? Is there any reason I'd go back there without something to get out of it like this? The only thing waiting for me there would be— …Maybe that's what I'll go with. Not that I'd ever tell her too much about it, but if I'm going there anyways, it should at least be because it's supposed to matter to me. "Hey, Aura, can I show you someplace today?" (edited)

"…Huh?"

"It's just- It's a place that means a lot to me. And I… I wanted to show you, and maybe talk about it with you, and we could catch up with each other while we're there." Her eyes feel glued to the ground out of embarrassment, even just giving this vague description.

Aura looked at Ashley slowly. "Why… are you trying to be my bestie again?" (edited)

Yeah, she figured she'd have to justify that at some point. She didn't expect the question to come up so early, but she's absolutely got an answer for it. "I just feel bad for you." That much is true, anyway. "It's not like I've wanted to leave you behind these past few days, it's just- I was- …There's been a lot of stuff that's been hard for me to figure out. It feels like a lot of the time, I don't know how to help you. And I- I don't even know how to convince a lot of people that it's the right thing to do… including you, sometimes. Not that I mean that in a bad way!" Her next sentence fails to come out of her mouth, and she falters for a few seconds before clearing her throat and taking a deep breath. "I just think… I think it's been hard and confusing for the both of us. And right now, the only thing I know for certain is that I don't want to give up, despite- despite everything. I want to keep trying to come back to you even when it's hard, because that's what you deserve." She hesitates again. What was the point of her saying this? Oh, right! "So, this is me trying to make it up to you. Yeah."

Aura suddenly pulls Ashley into a tight hug. "I’m… So happy to hear that. That’s what I love so much about you, Ashley. You’re so motivated, and you never give up. Even when the world tells you to… You’re like a superhero in real life!"

An awkward half-noise comes out of her mouth as she's pulled against Aura. Quickly, she adjusts and accepts the hug so that her friend doesn't think anything's wrong. "Ah… Th-thanks…" Did that actually cheer her up that much? I mean, I'm happy about that, but… It just doesn't feel like… It doesn't feel 'right', does it? That your empty words mean this much to her. Doesn't she deserve someone better than this? Someone who actually knows what they're doing, who can help her for real? All you're doing is letting her cling onto your hollow reassurances because she doesn't have anything else. This is probably the most love she's felt in her whole life, and you don't even mean it. If you really cared, you'd have told her by now that you're lying to her. You're only doing this because it makes you feel better about yourself – so you can pretend you're trying, because you showed her the bare minimum of compassion. She's going to figure it out eventually whether you tell her or not. Because it's obvious. Maybe she's already figured it out, even. The least you could do is save her the trouble of having to leave you herself. Why can't you just tell her already? Ashley doesn't say anything.

"No problem!" Aura smiles. "Anyaway… What did nya want to show me?"

"I... I wanted to show you the place I used to live." She has to do this. If going to Avengard with Aura really will help her, then there's no question that it should happen, no matter the reason why. It would be more selfish not to do this one thing for her.

"O-Oh… Isn’t that far?"

Ashley shrugs. "It's not THAT far. We can visit and be back within the day for sure."

"Not too late, right…?" She looks almost terrified.

"No, no, not that late at all. I promise. We won't even be there long enough for anyone to wonder about it."

"Okay." She forced a smile. "I trust you. Twust. Haha."

It's this or nothing. "Alright, let's get going, then! We're taking a bus there!" Nodding to her, Ashley starts running in the direction of the bus stop.

Aura follows her to the bus stop. The bus isn't here yet, so Aura sits down.

Ashley sits down next to her.

"Ashley..." Aura looks at her. "I'm trusting you, okay... So can you- Can you please hold my hand when we go?"

"Of course!" She smiles at Aura. It's normal for friends to hold each other's hands.

Aura makes a small smile. Eventually, the bus arrives.

Ashley gets up and holds her hand out behind her nonchalantly.

Aura holds onto it and boards the bus.

Boarding the bus with her, she reaches into a pocket of her backpack for her wallet to pay for the ride.

"Wow, you’we so kind. You’we definitewy the type to donate to chawity!" Aura sits down in the bus.

"Aha, thanks..." It doesn't matter if what she sees in you isn't real. It's just a matter of time now before she's in a better place. All of this is just a matter of time, a short interlude in your life that'll be over before you realize it. Just remember that. She sits down next to Aura.

Aura leans her head on Ashley’s shoulder and drifts off to sleep as the bus drives.

Instinct drives her to suck in her breath without even processing it, a chill running down her spine. It'd just be cruel at this point to move her. It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time. The only movement Ashley makes is turning her head to stare out the window at nothing.

The drive feels like an eternity, constantly stopping to pick people up from various small towns in the area. Ashley starts to feel sleepy from the boring trip.

At least sleeping will probably make that time pass faster. Ashley sets an alarm on her phone for around the time the bus was scheduled to arrive on Avengard, then leans her head against the window in tired resignation.

Ashley falls asleep. ((End chapter))

Jeff Johnner and Ray "Kite" Elliott stand facing one another for their final showdown.

8:28 AM

It's rather anticlimactic, really.

8:29 AM

The result of this conflict had been decided long before either of them entered this room by a few forgettable choices.

8:30 AM

Jeff Johnner isn't even really all there himself, he's already half dead from Dana Craig's bullets.

8:31 AM

But even if he was operating perfectly, Kite is literally unbeatable to him right now. Even he knows that. There's no reason to pretend this conflict is interesting.

8:31 AM

They both blow up and the world moves on. Specifics are irrelevant.

8:32 AM

All of this feels like an afterthought, really. These 2 just needed to be out of the story. Who cares?

8:33 AM

Did you really need to use this channel to say this? I thought I was simply meant to intuit this on my own.

8:33 AM

Do you simply have no faith in me?

8:34 AM

Autumn Peterson walked down the streets of Other Town, alone as usual.

8:34 AM

What?

8:36 AM

She waved to passerbys, giving them her usual and unceasing smile. She makes it look natural. They're used to it. It'd be far stranger to see her ever not smile. She's supposed to be happy, after all. She doesn't like to fail at that.

8:38 AM

Her greeting offers no real warmth, though. Were someone to somehow read her mind, all they'd find is an unceasing pool of paranoia right now. It's a good thing that sort of thought can be easily dispelled for her, otherwise that fear might haunt her too.

8:39 AM

None of the people waving back at her offer any warmth, either. They don't particularly care about her either. Most might find her annoying. Pretentious. No one particularly cares about Autumn Peterson. It's just a trade. No one wants to come off as rude here.

8:42 AM

It's not her they care about offending, though. It wouldn't really be a problem, she clearly suffers from too much kindness already. All around her is an endless entourage of enablers. She's a popular young woman, in other words.

8:43 AM

But all of these stem from 1 root cause. One that has absolutely nothing to do with her. Her parents.

8:43 AM

That is a ridiculous thing to canonize this late. She's clearly been established as having many friends.

8:44 AM

Am I to believe police officers are somehow highly popular people?

8:46 AM

They're the only 2 cops working in this small town, and valued members of this community. Naturally, everyone wants her family to like theirs. The chances of getting in trouble with the police grow drastically lower.

8:47 AM

That is a quite poor explanation at best. Are you trying to sabotage this too? I thought you'd at least bother keeping up the pretense.

8:48 AM

Or is that how they feel? It doesn't really matter. None of her friends are real characters in this story and none of them will ever need to bother explaining how they truly feel.

8:49 AM

The point here is that most relevant people think this, including her. And that's all that matters right now.

8:50 AM

You're simply leaving this ambiguous? It was my understanding that the intention here was to remove ambiguity? (edited)

8:51 AM

Autumn reaches the end of the road. She's not sure why she came here. There's nothing waiting here for her. No one on her way went to offer something to her, either. There's nothing here.

8:52 AM

As she turns around to walk back, a voice calls out to her. "Autumn?"

8:53 AM

Thomas Nielsen walks up to her. He's a few years older than her, not that it really matters.

8:54 AM

Autumn's expression tenses up, but it's unnoticeable to him. She's practiced at hiding that sort of thing.

8:56 AM

"Have you seen Aurora?" Thomas. "Why would I know where she is? Go ask Ashley if you care so much about pretending." Autumn snapped.

8:57 AM

"Pretending?" Thomas looks confused. "Pretending you care." Autumn shrugged.

8:58 AM

"Pretending I care about... Pretending?" Thomas. "Are you stupid or something? Pretending you care about her." Autumn.

9:01 AM

"She's my sister. Why wouldn't I?" Thomas doesn't display any real anger, just his usual resignation. "Yes, you adopted a brat any reasonable person would hate. Pretending she's your sister is part of what I'm saying. You just want a nice little object to protect and pretend you're anything but a total piece of shit." Autumn fumes.

9:02 AM

"Why are you acting like this? ...Never mind, I don't really care." Thomas. "Oh, that's nice. Go ahead and act like that the second I call out your obvious bullshit. My point isn't undone by your little act." Autumn.

9:03 AM

Thomas sighs. "...Fine, I'll go. I don't want to put up with whatever this is. There's the honesty you apparently want to look for. Where's Ashley?" "How should I know?" Autumn.

9:06 AM

"Because she's always at your waist? You could just text her to ask." Thomas. "Not anymore." Autumn shrugged. "I got rid of her."

9:09 AM

"What? Why?" Thomas. "Because she's the worst. You know it too. I shouldn't need to elaborate on that to you. Or are you just jealous I'm getting in the way of your half-baked rivalry? Oh no, Ashley... Listen to my tragic backstory about nothing happening. Isn't it exactly like you? Please care so much about how much I hate you." Autumn spoke mockingly, but it didn't sound that different from her usual sweet voice. Just enough to be noticeable.

9:11 AM

"What the fuck is your problem? What are you talking about?" Thomas. Autumn looked embarassed momentarily. "The point is, we're done. I'm never talking to her again." (edited)

9:13 AM

"...She's the worst because she tries to be like you. I just gave her a warning." Thomas. "So what? It doesn't matter which of us you're crushing on. I'm way out of your league." Autumn's expression frowned, even if her smile tried to disagree.

9:15 AM

Thomas doesn't bother pointing out how stupid that accusation is, but does obviously note it. He's not a pedophile, thankfully. "I thought you were dating her, anyway?" "Her personality and she's a girl? Are you stupid?" Autumn seethes as her smile fully returns.

9:17 AM

Thomas turns around and starts to walk away. Finally, he turns back around. "...Is this about Sam?" "What?" Autumn dies inside, as usual. "Oh... Right. You saw that."

9:19 AM

Thomas just nods solemnly. "Yeah." "I was just messing with him, anyway. Who cares? It was a joke. A common joke between friends. Of a platonic nature." Autumn.

9:25 AM

Thomas stares at her silently. "...Sure. Okay." He starts to regret asking. "And even if it was real, so what? What do you care? Are you jealous of him? Or wait... I get it. You're jealous of me, aren't you? You're one of those gays too, right? That's why you asked. I saw that terrible attempt at flirting too, you know? It was so forced me and Sam laughed at you about it for hours, like what a loser you know? What kind of pathetic man tries so hard to get with such a boring and bland boy. Like what, do you like pretending someone finally loves you? Or are you still convinced your parents aren't faking it? Huh? Who's embarrassed now?" Autumn.

9:25 AM

"...You, probably." Thomas isn't a gay pedophile, either. Autumn groans and turns around.

9:28 AM

"...Thanks for nothing. Let me know if you see her, I'm worried." Thomas starts to walk away. "...Yeah, I'm sure she'd immediately fall into a woodchipper without you. Everyone neeeeds you so much. I bet the world really relies on your shoulders. It's a shame bad things still happen to everyone, though... You must be so bad at that job." Autumn.

Thomas doesn't react. "My life is a paradise, you know!? I live in a world where everyone loves me, and you think I'd go and bother keeping around Ashley Laurier!? I'm not the kind of person who falls for stockholm syndrome! I have absolutely no feelings for that horrible annoying manipulative little... Ugh... The point is I don't care! I live my life with endless happiness you can't even imagine! You wish you were as good of a person as me, because then you wouldn't have to live in your miserable little life where you hang around Aura like she's worth helping! But you'll never be as good as me! Because you're a selfish idiot who just loves complaining! But you can't even do anything, can you? Sam is gone and you've done nothing! He's stuck back with the people he ran away from and it's all Ashley's fault! Do you not even care? Do you just want to add that to your nice little pile of 'problems' you where you sit down and whine about how sad and miserable your life is? Too bad! Grow up! No one cares about your feelings! Go do something on your own or curse yourself to live in a world where no one will ever do anything for you but sit there while you have a sad lonely little pathetic pity party! And at that point, why don't you just kill yourself? You don't deserve that escape yet, but what do you care? You're so selfish, you'd probably do that long before you bothered actually helping anyone! Lucky you! I guess your life isn't really that hard, huh?" Autumn.

9:38 AM

"...Do you want something?" Thomas finally turned to look at her. Autumn just stared at him.

9:40 AM

"Good. Because I don't care, Autumn." He turned around to leave once again. "Just because I don't fight against unbeatable currents doesn't mean I don't get to have feelings. If you paid attention to the world around you, you'd have realized there's no way Sam could stay here forever." She still didn't say anything.

9:41 AM

Thomas walked away. "I know where Aura is!" Autumn blurted out.

9:42 AM

"Really? Now? Suddenly?" Thomas turned around. "Tell me right now. I don't want to listen to anymore of your rambling." "...She's with Ashley. Obviously." Autumn.

9:44 AM

"That's been established. But I don't know where Ashley is either." Thomas. "Isn't it obvious? I broke up with her, so she's trying to soothe her sad pathetic ego by keeping Aura away from you and your family. Broke up with her platonically." Autumn.

9:45 AM

"...Right." Thomas. "She kidnapped her just yesterday, remember? Who knows where she'd run without anyone to coddle her feelings and pretend she's worth anything. Well, there's still her parents I guess. You could go look there." Autumn.

9:46 AM

"Her family? It's only been a few hours. That's not really a problem." Thomas. "Then maybe she's run off somewhere else, who cares? She's smart. Way smarter than you." Autumn.

9:47 AM

"I told you. No rambling, or I'm leaving." Thomas. "I don't care what causes you to stay. You can't manipulate me." Autumn.

9:49 AM

"...Great. Thanks for that tiny lead, I guess." Thomas walked away. Autumn followed after him.

9:50 AM

"...Is this a joke? What are you doing?" Thomas kept walking. "Well, you clearly wanted to talk to me so much." Autumn kept following.

9:51 AM

"I apologize for whatever gave that impression." Thomas. "Oh, come on. Like you'd put up with me that long otherwise." Autumn.

9:53 AM

"Then, I'm sorry for listening." Thomas. "Stop pretending you don't want me so bady. You admitted it earlier, your whole thing with Ashley was about me. I mean, talk about desperate." Autumn.

9:55 AM

"That's because I thought you were at least more charismatic back then. I'll redirect all my advice to you if you care so much. First one: Stop doing this." Thomas. "See how easy you are? I mean, calling me charismatic... You're not subtle at all." Autumn.

9:58 AM

He finally stops walking. "I get it. You're lonely. I talked to you, now you need to keep throwing yourself at me until I fix that. See? Not stupid. But I don't have time for this. Go find someone who cares about this. I'm going to assume that's not your parents." "You're trying to prove you're not stupid to me?" Autumn. They both stare at each other silently, with varying degrees of anger.

9:59 AM

"If you admit you love me, I'll text Ashley about where Aura is." Autumn. "No." Thomas.

10:01 AM

"I'll do it if you kiss me!" Autumn closed her eyes and stuck out her lips in a kissing position. Thomas just walked away silently.

10:02 AM

She opened her eyes and found that she was alone. "..."

10:04 AM

She walked away as well, looking for someone to help. Thomas was just way too dense to let her help him, as she told herself. (edited)

10:04 AM

She's a really selfless person.

10:05 AM

10: Advanced Gaming

Ouroboros wakes up in his bed the next morning.

No time for breakfast. He heads downstairs and gets in his car if uninterrupted.

Ouroboros is in his car.

He drives to Avengard Mall.

Ouroboros arrives at Avengard mall. It doesn’t seem to be open yet.

That's fine. Maybe the doors are unlocked anyway.

As Ouroboros approaches the mall, the whole place suddenly explodes. Ouroboros is sent flying and crashes into his new car.

Oh. ... ...... ......... ............ ...............

10:25 PM

He tries to determine how badly he's hurt.

His body is sore, and there’s a a few cuts on his back. He wasn’t close enough for any real injuries thankfully.

He attempts to get to his feet.

He succeeds.

...Good. yeah. He can stand. He's still moving. It's not over. ...But Shuichi beat him to the punch. He was right. But... how did he know? He needs to move. Is the building on fire or anything?

It's just kind of a big crater, it seems like most of the damage is from the building's foundations collapsing. There's no fire or anything. As Ouroboros scans the area however, he spots Maria Stanley Jr laying in the rubble, unconscious.

What. "Maria!" He runs up to her. Because she has to be okay, right? ...Did Shuichi know about this, too? Were those boys working for him? Why did she... is she okay?

This guy rises up from the rubble and steps between the 2 of them as Ouroboros approaches. He pulls out a gun and aims it at Maria. "Look... This isn't personal, but back away."

He shoots this man.

It hits. "Ugh... Uh..." He topples over like a puppet with it's strings cut.

...Okay, great. That just happened. He steps around his body and checks if Maria is still breathing.

She is.

"Maria!" He tries to jostle her awake.

"Mmm..."

"Can you hear me, Maria?!"

"...No."

"I see. Do you think you can stand?"

"What happened?"

"...You didn't see it yourself?"

She shakes her head.

"...There was an explosion. Were you hurt?"

"I don't think so..."

He offers her a hand to help her get to her feet.

She takes it and looks around.

...He also looks around.

Maria walks up to an unconscious Lelouch and kicks her. She then goes back to Ouroboros.

He lets this happen. Is she the only other unconscious person he can see? "...Maria, do you know who that is?"

There’s a bunch of unconscious people. "…No. Let’s go." Maria.

That's obviously not true, but it's no use prying. He could also ask her why she's here, but he's more or less surmised that already. "Sure."

She waits for him to lead the way.

Hm. He looks around for any traces of A Thing That Shuichi Maoziwam Would Not Want Him Seeing. He has no faith that he's going to find this thing, considering he's been beaten to the punch, however he can't ignore the fact that Shuichi Maoziwam is stupid and potentially failed.

((Roll))

((9))

Ouroboros doesn’t find anything.

Yeah. Figures. He leaves.

Maria follows.

...Pausing for a moment, he looks back at the mall.

"What is it?"

Man. "It's nothing. You were with your classmates when you woke up yesterday, yeah?"

"…Yeah." She shakes slightly.

"Did they keep you safe?"

"…They tried." She only half-lies.

"That's about what I figured. Did... did you hear anything about Jeff Johnner?"

"…Yeah. He died." She doesn’t look at Ouroboros.

"...Then they did it. We're... safe." Holy shit.

"I guess so."

"...It's as safe as we're going to get, short of Shuichi Maoziwam outright dying."

"…"

...Is this it, then? Is there nothing to be done? Shuichi was one step ahead of him this whole time, so... "Is there anywhere you want to be, Maria?"

"…No."

"...Nothing you need from the mall?"

She shakes her head intensely.

"Then I'll leave you to your own devices for now, if you don't mind. I have... a lot to think about at the moment."

"Can you drive me home?"

Hm? "To your mother?"

"…"

"...If that's what you want."

She sits in the car.

He gets in the driver's seat and turns the car on.

It still works.

He drives Maria home.

"Why did you and mom…?" She suddenly asks.

"...Get together?"

She nods.

He considers this. "That's not an easy thing to answer, you know."

"Why not?"

"I don't suppose you've ever fallen in love with one of your classmates."

"…I don’t know."

"Yeah, things can be complicated like that. Your frame of reference for what love is only exists in the moment. It's a word that only means whatever's the most convenient for you when you say it."

"Then why did you say it to mom?"

He shrugs. "Because I felt it. I thought it'd lead to a successful, mutually beneficial relationship in the long term."

"Why?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" He laughs a little, under his breath.

"…"

"...I mean, all she's done is yell at me while leeching off my fortune for most of our marriage, it it couldn't have been all bad, right? If we never got together, you never would've been born."

"Wouldn’t that be better, then?"

"I had a feeling you were gonna say that." He sighs. "...You're going to keep living, Maria. I don't understand why you're so blind to your own merits. You're the shining star of the Stanley family, and I'm so disappointed in myself for letting it get like this..."

"Is than an order?"

"Yes. You're going to keep living."

"…" They arrive back at the house.

"Well, here we are."

She gets out and goes into the house.

He sits in the driveway for a bit, then decides to drive back to the mall. He can't just ignore that. He had to prioritize Maria for the time being, sure, and thank God she's safe, but... there's something there. Even if it was destroyed, the fallout is going to important. He knows this for certain. He needs to keep fighting.

The police have surrounded it at this point.

He watches them work from an unintrusive distance, keeping an open eye for anything potentially relevant to himself.

After a while, Shuichi Maoziwam’s car drives by.

!!! Hahahah, holy shit. No way. Is he really going to make it this obvious? Has he reached the endgame so soon? Of course he tails it. Securely. He is not going to get spotted.

The car parks next to an apartment building.

He continues watching.

The driver gets out and enters the building. Ouroboros can’t see who it is from here.

He looks up the building's address to see if there's anything significant about this place.

Doesn’t seem like it.

Then he gets out of his car and carefully follows behind this person.

The mall is just a crater at this point. ??? and Harriet both regain consciousness, but both are hurt and too weak to stand(for differing reasons on that last one). ??? is back in their body. Gordon's back is to a wall and he's been shot through the chest. He seems dead from this distance, but they're not close enough to check for sure. They're the only ones here.

Harriet coughs. "Fuck."

"Uuugh..." I crawl towards Gordon and feel for a pulse.

Alexi runs into the scene. "What… The fuck?"

"I don't know!!" (edited)

4:35 PM

"Help me!" (edited)

"Why should I help you?" Alexi tries to help up Harriet.

"Because... I've done everything right!" (edited)

4:37 PM

"I'll give you my guns!"

"You’ve been nothing but the worst!" Alexi.

"You do kind of suck," Harriet says, holding onto Alexi.

"How!?"

Police sirens ring.

4:39 PM

"Fuck!" Alexi.

"You've been nothing but cruel to me, and also kind of annoying, and - fuck!"

"Harriet…" Alexi bites his lip. "I can’t carry you fast enough to get out of here."

I look around for the paintbrush.

It’s not here.

I look around for the guns.

"Fuck." Harriet says. "Fuck. Where did my wheelchair go?"

"It probably blew up, how should I know?" Alexi lets her go, and moves over to ???. "If I do this… You owe me."

"What?"

"If I carry you out of here, you’re helping me free her later, okay?"

"Huh?"

"Who?"

"Harriet! What do you think they’ll do to the only living person near the crime scene? Let her go with a pat on the back?" Alexi.

"O...kay?"

Alexi helps ??? stand up and drags him out of the area.

"Shit. You can't leave me behind, okay?"

Alexi doesn’t answer.

I let her drag me.

"I'm serious!"

((Channel split))

??? and Alexi hide behind another building.

"I need the hospital."

"…Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Fuck. Fine. Just give me a second." They sit down. (edited)

I give her just a second.

((Shhhhh))

5:27 PM

She continues to sit there.

"What are you doing?"

"Catching my breath. I had to rush here, y’know?"

I try to catch my own breath, though I'm not sure how to.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to catch my breath."

"Not literally…"

"Huh? Um... Have you caught it yet?"

"It just means resting for a second."

"It's been more than a second."

"I was being figurative!"

"It's been minutes."

"Oh my god you’re so insufferable… Wait, how do you remember me this time? Do you remember me?"

"Alexi."

"How?"

"I... remember everything."

"Even who you are?"

"Not that."

"Convenient."

"Some people called me Jay."

"That’s not a real name though. That’s like… A nickname."

"Is Alexi a real name?"

"Yes? But Jay is short for James, Jason, Jacob, any name with a J at the start really."

"None of those sound right."

"Have you heard any names with a J?"

I think.

6:20 PM

"Jeff Johnner." (edited)

"Well… You obviously can’t be Jeff Johnner himself."

"Why would I have heard my own name without meeting myself?"

6:22 PM

"Someone called me John Doe, too."

"Oh. That makes this harder then. John Doe is just the generic term for unknown person."

"That's me, isn't it?"

"I… guess? Is that the name you identify with?"

"No?"

"Then what did you mean by that’s you?"

"I'm an unknown person."

"…And the generic term for that is John Doe, yeah."

"Am I a generic term?"

"What?"

"...What's a generic term?"

"Wha-? It just... It just means something that's used frequently."

"Um... am I used frequently?"

"Wh- Like... A term. A thing you say. I don't even- What?"

"I- are you okay?" (edited)

"No. You’re too stupid for my brain."

"..."

"Ugh..."

"Fine. Let’s get to the hospital." He helps ??? up again.

I smile.

7:09 PM

"Which way is it?"

They walk without answering.

I do my best to keep up.

Finally, the 2 arrive at a hospital. "Tell them you were messing around with fireworks or something. Don’t get yourself involved with the bombing."

"Okay." I nod.

7:17 PM

Then, I go into the hospital.

"Wait… Fuck. Your face. I forgot about the bandages."

"What bandages?"

7:19 PM

I pause for a second. "Oh... nevermind." (edited)

7:19 PM

"What's wrong with them?"

"They’re obviously going to ask about those."

"Then, uh... take them off?"

"I kind of just assumed it’d be vague gore behind there."

"What about the bandage you had?"

"You mean… My eye?"

"That one."

"Yeah, neither of us wants to see what that looks like underneath."

"Okay. Well, I'll just say that I was messing around with fire works on my face."

"Wow… That’s an awful excuse." She pauses. "Yeah sure let’s go with that."

I continue going in.

Alexi watches them go in.

I search for a hospital person to give me help.

??? is helped. ((End session))

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

??? is in a hospital room, alone. They’re waiting for a doctor.

I sit there, impatiently. I stare around the hospital room and look for any tools I can understand.

The doctor walks in. "And you are...?"

I nod.

"Your name."

"Uh... I don't know. Jay?" I suddenly feel nervous. (edited)

"Jay... Last name?"

"I don't have one."

"What? How?"

"I... just don't?"

"I see you had some kind of operation done on your face? We don't have any kind of file on a Jay no last name... So could you please say what it was."

"Ugh. Um... Cob?"

"Cob? That's not a medical procedure."

"No, I mean... well, I'm not sure about the operation."

"You don't know why there bandages all over your head?"

"Somebody put them on me. I don't know who."

"And you didn't take them off?"

"No? They're... stuck on."

"Would you like us to take a look at it?"

"N... no. That part is fine."

"You're fine with the bandages all over your face?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I can't feel them."

"Visibility problems, eating problems, smelling problems... You don't even know why they're on there, right?"

"No, but I've not had any problems like those."

"...Alright, sir. As for the rest, it should all handle itself with a bit of rest. I really recommend you don't move, though."

"What? How?"

"You don't have any major damage to your body. It seems to just be bruising."

"Oh, but, how could I not move?"

"Just... Stay in bed."

"I think my bed was exploded."

"This bed."

"Oh. Okay. Is it safe here?"

"This is a hospital, yes."

"..."

4:29 PM

I sigh. "Okay."

4:30 PM

"Can I have something to eat?"

"We have a cafeteria downstairs."

"But I can't get to that."

"Do you have anyone who can get it for you?"

"Uh... no? Maybe the dog, but I don't know where it is."

"Dogs can't do that, no."

"Okay, then... No."

"I’ll ask a nurse to come help you."

I smile and lay down.

The doctor leaves.

"..." I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Jay!" Ehn pops up.

"Oh. Hey."

5:16 PM

"Is it true that you couldn't get me food?"

"Obviously. No one else can see me."

"But then couldn't you just grab it?"

"Committing crimes isn’t my job. Why didn’t you just ask Alexi?"

"How would I?" (edited)

"By talking to them?"

"From this bed?"

"You could’ve just told that doctor you had someone."

"Well... I suppose so. She's hard to find, anyway." (edited)

"He’s just in the lobby."

"...Really? Why?"

"Because she needs you. Or so they think, at least."

"..." I sigh. "I don't trust them."

"I didn’t know you were able to distrust people."

"Huh? Well..." I think. "What about Gordon?"

"What about him?"

"Well... I 'distrust' him."

"Why?"

"Because he ruined my mission and tried to kill me."

"I don’t think that’s a fair description of events."

"What? Why?" (edited)

"You still had amnesia at that point. It’s like trusting a baby with a gun."

"Hav was going to come with me. He ruined it for no reason."

5:47 PM

"It was sabotage."

She shrugs. "Well, it would’ve gone badly if you succeeded. Trust me, the last thing you want is him getting captured like that."

"It was my mission?"

5:50 PM

"Are you on his side?"

"I’m on the side of making things interesting. And also sort of your side, but I’m not supposed to be playing favorites."

"...What do you know?"

"That’s confidential."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don’t wanna tell you."

"Oh..."

6:02 PM

I continue laying there and close my eyes.

"What are you planning to do when you get out of here?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you’ve gotta do something!"

"But I'll decide what when I get to it."

"Shouldn’t you be able to make your own plans?"

"That's too hard."

"But you’re the protagonist! You can’t just be a follower!"

"A what?"

"As in someone who just follows what other people tell them."

"I don't do that! I just... decide quickly."

"Then go faster."

"What are you talking about?"

6:48 PM

"...Is there a reason you're here?"

"Boredom, mostly."

"Where's the nurse?"

The nurse walked in.

I look up towards them expectantly.

"You called?"

"Do you have food?"

"Yes, in the cafeteria. Would you like me to get some?"

"Yeah."

"What would you like?"

"...Sandwich?"

Carolyn Blythe passes by the room. "Alright." The nurse.

"Hey, wait."

7:18 PM

I get up and walk out, past the nurse. I try to follow Carolyn.

((Roll))

((1))

??? cannot get up.

"Uuuugh." I look at the nurse. "That woman... the one with the yellow hair. Can you get her for me?" (edited)

Carolyn walks in.

Harriet is alone.

Harriet breathes in. And out. And in. And out. Her head touches the ground. She is not afraid. She is not afraid. She is not afraid.

5:03 PM

She cannot be abandoned. The weight of her body is strong and grounding. She will not be left dead again, the meat of her body ruined, her broken legs, her battered... fuck. Never alone again.

5:03 PM

Harriet waits to die. Harriet waits to be rescued.

The police arrive.

Harriet turns her cheek.

They approach her with their guns out.

Harriet puts her hands up. "Don't shoot!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Harriet, and I'm not... I'm not involved in this, please, I'm not supposed to be here."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, but I'm disabled, and I don't have my wheelchair."

They carry Harriet into the back of a police car.

Harriet closes her eyes, exhausted.

Harriet passes out. ((End session))

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

((finally..))

((I decided to be nice))

((ty))

Harriet wakes up in a police holding cell.

Harriet groans and rubs her head. “Ugh.. what..?”

Reporters are filing into the room outside the cell.

“What the fuck?” Harriet says.

A reporter looks at her. "Are you the one we’re here for?"

“I.. what.” Says Harriet. “I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know why I’m here..”

"Oh." They lose interest in her.

Harriet pulls herself to the corner, hyperventilating, and tries to figure out what’s going on, what her surroundings are like.

It's a police station. The reporters are all facing away from her.

"Can someone tell me what's happened?" Harriet asks.

They ignore her.

Harriet attempts to yell as loud as she possibly can.

"What?" One of them turns around.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?!?" Harriet insists.

"They caught the criminal. Obviously."

Harriet grows even more confused, somehow. "What criminal? On what charges? What crime??"

"Behind everything. We haven't been told more than that yet."

Harriet frowns. "Behind.. everything? Everything ever???"

2:51 PM

((is discord back..))

"In this city recently."

"Oh. What.. criminal did they catch?"

"We don’t know. They’re supposed to bring him out soon."

"Oh." Harriet says dimly, and sits back, waiting. Her chest feels so empty, like someone's taken a carving spoon to it and removed her insides as cleanly and neatly as a dissection. She knew, on some level, that Corpse Husband couldn't just be hers - not something she'd invented for her own benefit, not a pet. But she had wanted - and wants, still - with her whole body, the longing so palpable, to own something, for once. And instead he had gone for the fucking face before his whole body had snapped and fallen apart like a puppet off the strings - and she had been kind, hadn't she? All the cruelty had gone where it was supposed to, for once, thin and structured. She would have smiled, had she killed him, Harriet thought viciously. She wants to see him slide wetly down the blade, propped up, for thinking himself deserving of something else.

3:10 PM

Harriet does not hit herself. She sits with the big empty, the piles of fucking nothing.

These 2 men bring Shawn Duveldt out in front of the crowd of reporters.

3:16 PM

"I give you... Shawn Duveldt." Older man.

Dana wakes up in the back of a police car with Ariel. She's hurt, but mostly fine. Howard is sitting in the front.

“Ow. What… hap-ah, it…” Ariel awake?

Ariel is awake.

“Whatever that was… I suppose it’s too naive to assume it did the job we couldn’t.” I mutter. “At least it didn’t do the job, that guy… we’re alive, is the point.” I stare gloomily out the window, waiting for Howard to inevitably berate/exposition me.

"You can thank Kingsley for pulling you out of there. I had no idea you found yourself in the bombing site." Howard.

“Bomb. Yeah. Who exactly did the bombing there, then?”

"…We don’t know." This lie is so transparent, it almost seems out of character for Howard.

“Ok, is this a political sort of don’t know? Like, yeah, a ‘the police simply don’t know why all Blythe’s clients die’ sort of unaware?” I don’t really let this slide. It’s not like it matters, honestly. Nothing does. Holy SHIT I’m turning like, emo. God.

"Sure. Point is, Johnner's dead." Howard. (edited)

“Good. That’s good. Yeah. I guess we’re… well, no, he was only one guy. Still loose ends.” I murmur.

"I know his boss now, too. I’ll need your help on that. Don’t kill him or anything, though."

“Huh. Uh, okay. What do you want to do with him, then…? I kind of thought figuring that identity out was going to be… the entirety of the work.”

"I need you to get him out of his apartment for a bit at a time I’m aware of. Nothing major. I just want to record evidence of his guilt."

“Ah. Okay. I see. Makes sense. I won’t go off and do anything with him on my own. Who… is it, then?” ~~Dana foolishly asks this, even though it’s obvious that by the conventions of pacing, it will either be followed promptly by a completely uncommitted non-answer or the end of the session~~

"Shuichi Maoziwam."

“…That makes some sense, I suppose.”

"…Too much. It’s a boring answer." Howard sighs.

“Hmph. Kind of. Where I stand it means the person ultimately behind everything… is just some shady guy I’ve heard of before. There’s possibilities that could’ve been interesting or cathartic, but this… might as well have been Shelk, or something stupid like that.” I grumble. “We don’t get the privilege of an interesting story.”

"…True enough." Howard nods.

“I’m sure you’ve got the experience to know most mysteries are just putting in the legwork to be able to be confident about what you already pretty much know. …I’m a little more caught off guard.”

5:09 PM

My eyes widen for a moment, and then I smile. “Haha. Oh, man… actually, I guess this is a pretty exciting twist of fate. Just for someone else.”

"Who?" Howard.

“Fuckin’… god, I mean, I don’t even know why she was there. Maybe she already knew this? Had some unique reason for… I ran into the guy’s daughter in pursuit of Johnner. Lelouch. Almost got me fucking killed.” Yeah… that sure was… something.

"Lelouch Maoziwam, huh?" Howard.

“Yeah… she had a… group of like, uh.” I guess they were ‘groupies’. Hah. …What… the fuck?

5:22 PM

“…Where are we headed, right this moment?” Oh, oh, the… Ehn. Ehn mentioned Lelouch. Indirectly. Right? A relative of Maoziwam. Or the girlfriend of one?

"We’re not driving. The car’s parked." Howard.

“Right. Yeah. Obviously.” I reaffirm this obvious fact about my surroundings I’d obviously know. Could it have been Jade…? I guess it doesn’t matter. The obvious answer is that Lelouch, those affiliated with her, are already… WERE already, as of a while ago now, wrapped up in this bullshit sort of magic… things. “I think I might… be the dumbest person ever…” The end of this sentence is barely audible. I’m gripping into my thighs hard enough that I’d probably draw blood if I were wearing shorts or something.

"What else is new?" Howard. "You’re not!" Ariel.

“Haha…” I feel sick. “The perfume… the fucking perfume! She… I was… haha, oh, I’d like that, wouldn’t I? A convenient scapegoat for everything about me that’s fucking re…. But, just logically, it has to be what was going on…” No. No. No. I mean, I should be relieved, right…? Oh noooo nononono. I hold my head.

"…Right. Well, you’re free to go. Call me whenever you’re ready for that Maoziwam thing."

“Mmhm. Yeah, okay. Thanks.” I open the door, shaking slightly. I probably recognize where we are. “I mean, whatever works. Tomorrow. Or later. Or sooner. I…” I think about looking back at him, but doing that would also, my peripheral vision… “Anything goes.” I walk away.

Ariel follows. They’re just outside the mall, which is now essentially just a crater. "Today." Howard.

“Right. Sure. Just… a few hours to clear my head. Okay.” How the fuck did I live through that?

Ariel follows.

This is stupid. What, it won’t exist if you don’t look? I can’t just ignore her. “I don’t know how you do it.” I say this very unclear phrase.

"Why not?"

Okay, that’s also a weird response. “Whatever they did to me… they did to you too. But you seemed the same as always to me. I guess I just don’t actually know what ‘it’ is. That’s… that’s not even really what I meant, I guess. Still avoiding it.”

5:53 PM

Even I only half understand what I’m talking about, really.

"Well… I always have to give as much love as possible, don’t I?"

“Huh? I’m not talking… about… love. Or, I guess I was. But why would you think I was…?” I’m so confused.

"The perfume, right?"

“Yeah, I mean… holy shit, wait, was that like, an aphrodisiac? No, I just… I thought… it’s like, supervillain shit, like psychic powers. I didn’t think, didn’t know…” …No. You knew. You knew immediately.

"Didn’t know what?"

“It’s not like it matters now. And she’s dead, so any kind of direct resolution to whatever the fuck that was…” I throw up my hands. “You said it yourself, I guess. That’s what I can’t understand. I don’t need to give as much as possible. I think, feeling love… is purely a negative.”

6:07 PM

“In that sense, at least.”

"Why?"

“Well, it’s cause… I-I don’t know. It’s like explaining why the sky’s blue, it just feels… some intuition. I guess that kind of thing can never be described objectively. That’s probably why that stuff covers it’s tracks so well.” I brush my hair off my face. “I mean, you’re choosing to gamble every time. Maybe a relationship is nice. Obviously there’s nuance there, stuff worth seeking for a lot of people. But that’s… being loved is the reward for a successful investment. If you don’t have that, if you just have these feelings left to fester… I don’t think any pain could be worse. I’d take the murder crowbar over it any day.” I probably wouldn’t.

"I think loving is it’s own reward."

“Hah. If only. That’s gotta be it… that’s the difference. Helps you in the other way, too. It’s only because you were sending what were in hindsight clear signals that I gave you an answer, that I made a move. And if it’s a good thing either way, that’s a ‘risk’ worth taking. Not even a risk. But I’m not like that. That’s why I can’t be happy. Not in the same way.” I sigh, looking into the sky to gauge vaguely what time it is while I guess fucking forgetting I have a phone.

It’s early in the morning. Dana has essentially had no sleep that night. "You don’t love me?"

“I do. I think I do, at least. It’s what I call love. I feel it for you more than I’ve felt anything.” Probably. Close enough. “And that’s… really, just. I don’t know if it’s…” I swallow. “The woman in the wheelchair. Her name’s Harriet Kadin. We talked a bit. It was before you came to.”

"If you think you do, then isn’t that enough?"

“Sure. We can treat that as a definite answer, fine. But what if that’s in itself the issue?” I point to my palm, gesturing as if it actually conveyed anything. “Never seen this woman before in my life. She didn’t know me either. Her experience with me was entirely from this night, entirely while… I mean, I guess we’ve concluded… while I was under the influence of this fantasy genre roofie.” I hold the contents of my stomach together addressing directly the permeable and vulnerable nature of my self. “And once we woke up after getting our asses kicked, when she and I were the only people up and awake… I don’t know if she just didn’t get what was going on, or what, but before checking out the situation, confirming who’s fucking alive, the first thing she said when we talked was… how much more amicable I was now. How pleasant. Like, I was such a bitch before, but not in this situation where we’re all bleeding on our way to death’s door or there already.” I smile disingenuously.

"Do you think she was wrong?"

“…I don’t. That’s the worst part. I was seething, maniacal, totally out of control. …And then the person I loved died. And everything was all better.” I click my tongue. “I mean, Jesus. It was a uniquely shitty situation, but still. One hell of a bad omen.”

"You can't say that. Don't you love Grace too? She's still alive."

“That’s… complicated. But yes, sure, kind of. And obviously she’s still alive. But even that caused problems… I mean, I think she’s the entire reason we got into that mess. I don’t want to admit it, but… that’s probably why I was willing to take a more brazen approach to the Johnner problem.”

"Oh."

“Maybe that’s the issue. I’m… too like you. I have too much of this feeling. But I’m not you, so it doesn’t… work.” What the fuck are you talking about? What is this? Get over yourself. She’s the one with the issues, remember? Her whole fucked up home life? The weird way she copes from that? Our dynamic doesn’t function this way, and you’re obviously treating this whole thing inconsistently. …If she has issues, she sure doesn’t fucking act like it. “…Maybe I’m just tired.”

"We could switch, if you want?"

“Uuh?” I make an inquisitive grunt, similar to the famous Tim Allen one.

"I change gender all the time, right? Maybe you could try being the woman for once."

“What? You… but I am. A woman. Right? I don’t… understand.” Uh,

"You don’t really act like one, right?"

“What… does that mean…?” My voice falters near the end. I… probably do know what that means.

"Well… You know… It’s like how I’m a woman."

“Ah. Yes.” Wouldn’t want to dispute that part. “Okay. Sure, I get the sort of… general idea. I just don’t know what that would be, in practice.”

"We could try acting like the other for a while."

I chuckle. “Like, personality…? It would be an interesting experiment, I guess.”

"Yeah."

I place a hand on my forehead, over my eyes. It makes no sense. In the first place, the whole problem, whole point of the conversation was that I’m NOT you, even with superficial similarities. And this would just highlight that. Right? Maybe. It also didn’t really have anything to do with like, gender… I don’t think? It’s stupid. This is the worst idea she’s had yet, and though I love her, that area has some tough competition. And yet. Following a bad idea is the only reason I got this far at all, really… And I’m smiling in spite of myself. Because it does seem pretty funny. There is something freeing in playing a character. I nuzzle up to her, leaning slightly against her shoulder, way more intimately than I would ever normally go for, probably. It’s… a little less than graceful. I’m not cut out for this cutesy shtick. “But Arielll…” I reply in a very abnormally high-pitched, offensively saccharine voice. “What if this brings to light the often absurd and exaggerated way we perceive others? I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

Ariel tries to put up a gruff serious front. "They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

“I suppose so.” I smile.

Ariel leads the way home.

Dana follows.

Kingsley is standing outside their apartment. "Oh, hello…" "Hello!" Ariel.

“Hi, Kingsley.” I make direct eye contact with Johnathan. My first instinct is to ask him where the hell he was during the entirety of that thing, or how he didn’t know the fact his boss was clearly privy to that we were in a fucking blitzkrieg zone. But really, who gives a shit. And it wouldn’t work within the rules of the game. “I’m glad you made it out okay. I heard you even saved us from the wreckage. Thank you.” I hug him.

"Wh- Huh?" He freezes solidly in place.

I giggle. “It’s been a long night.” I pull out of the hug. It was… not unpleasant. Hard to tell how much of the experience was related to a weird sadistic satisfaction in making him uncomfortable.

"Can I… talk to you?" Kingsley. "Of course." Ariel. "No I meant… Her." Kingsley.

“About… what?” I tilt my head curiously. What would he need me alone for? I guess I’m not obligated to keep up the bit if it ends up being just us two.

"Well… It’s a private discussion. And I think you might be the only person I can trust with this." Kingsley. "What about Howard?" Ariel. "Well… He knows, but-" Kingsley gestures vaguely.

I shrug. “If you think so.” I just. Stand here. It’s her initiative to leave or not.

Kingsley motions to Dana's room.

I wave to Ariel, and then head to my room.

Kingsley follows and closes the door.

“What is it?”

He sits down, looking defeated. "I just… Betrayed someone who felt like a close friend."

“Oh. …I see.” I sit down. I don’t think Dana or Ariel would be very helpful for you in this situation. Fake Ariel, I guess. Am I like, the closest person he has at this point? That’s a little… How does this keep happening?

"He’s… The one who blew up that mall."

“Ah. I didn’t push it, but… I was wondering about that.” I nod understandingly. “Did you sell him out for doing it, then?”

8:14 PM

Shit. Ariel definitely wouldn’t say sell out. I mean, I’m not really doing her right now.

8:14 PM

Being! Being her. Like doing the roleplaying bit.

"He was… A murderer. He killed someone once too. A guy named Mats Rumen. And I'm… The one who even made that an opportunity in the first place."

Mats Rumen died?

8:16 PM

Anyway.

8:17 PM

“Well… sometimes it ends up like that. Especially in your field, I imagine.”

8:17 PM

I don’t mention that I definitely killed more than one person.

"Howard made me do it to make up for that but… I don’t… I don’t really feel like a good person for doing it."

“Doing… what? This ‘betraying’ thing?”

"Yeah."

“Well… whatever you did, I can’t imagine it was just for the sake of avenging Mats Rumen. Sometimes people need to be stopped. For their own good, too.” I’m really just saying bullshit. Whatever.

"Do you… Think I’m a bad person?"

I have to hold back a laugh. “I don’t… think I’m the person to ask about that. Even beyond the fact that I still don’t truly understand what you did and why.” I look down. “Feels like the wrong question to me. Though of course I’d say that. I mean, takes one to know one, right? And I’m not a good person. I tried some heel approach, to accept myself as ‘the bad guy’, but I think that was just coping, too. The real two categories in my world are active and passive.” Uh??? I sure am saying some words, here.

"But you… Saved me, remember? A few days ago, Johnner would’ve killed me if not for your help. You are a hero. An even better one than me."

“Well, that’s like… consequence based. That makes morality easy. It’s just about if what you did does enough good to make up for probably pissing your bomber friend off.”

"Oh, I wouldn’t… Really judge it like that."

“Feels like that’s the only sense in which I… whatever. My point was that you did something, and I think that matters. Maybe it wasn’t the best possible thing ever, but someone had to do something, and you were in a position to do so. It’s about… some sort of balance, maybe.”

"I think… The way to decide right and wrong… Is to think of someone you consider a good person, and to act like them."

“Maybe. But there’s always gonna be a point where you have to deal with that contradiction. That… The person you’re imitating isn’t imitating anyone.”

"…Maybe."

“Or maybe not. Maybe it’s the blind leading the blind. Some people are just a little better at it.”

"That thing you were saying about active and passive… It does make some sense. I trust you a lot more than Ariel."

“Mm.” I let that sink in. “Thanks, I guess. I think, in the pure ideal world, no one would be like me.” I grab a drink. From those groceries I explicitly got the day before I forgot I did so in order to go to subway. “But there’s always gonna be some shit stirrer. And there needs to be someone else getting their hands dirty for that to be dealt with. That’s why there’s the police. Why the US is a bloated nightmare with a military too large to even use, while they get to have a high standard of living in Europe or whatever.”

"You don’t want anyone to be like you? Then… Why be like you?"

“Because I am already here.” I take a swig.

"Why not just try to be someone else?"

… “I do. I think it’d take a while to go over how funny being asked that is. But in the end… things have a way of returning to form.” Mm. “At any rate, I don’t know if my pride could ever let me stay away from being this for long. The little bit of nobility in me has things I want to protect. And the real reason, the selfish one, is that I can’t just wait and hope for a win to come to me. I’ve learned that.”

9:25 PM

I guess it’s interesting that I can speak openly to him. He already sees most of what I am.

"Well… I think you’re very impressive in your own right. According to Howard, that sort of self-awareness is very important."

“Hmph. Never feels that way. It’s just the way things are. I can count the amount of good things I’ve actually succeeded at on one hand.” I stare at my hand. “Maybe some day. Some day I’ll have some comfortable life without mafia assassinations and subterfuge where I’ve gotten whatever it is I’m looking for, and I can just live quietly as… a woman?” The absurdity of what exactly I’m using that word to mean here strikes me at the end. I also remember what this conversation even actually is. “That ‘some day’ is what we live for. You’ll figure it out. What you did. What you had to do or what was a mistake. You’ll probably have to figure that out yourself. But it’ll happen eventually.” I sigh.

"…Is that so?" He puts his hand on Dana's. "You’re… Really wise."

“I hope not.” I drink, averting my eyes from and not addressing the… hand thing. “I guess there’s an art to knowing how to seem that way.”

"Is there? I must be really bad at it then…"

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just not seen you in the right environment. Me… maybe I’m selling it right now, but I do not think I’ve ever seemed remotely wise to Ariel. She runs circles around me, and I’ve wondered if it’s real understanding or feigned confidence… but at some point that stops mattering.” I take a long, deep breath. “You don’t just… do things enough, Kingsley. Even if they end up being the wrong thing, that’s a mistake to learn from. And if I’m your idea of a hero, this here… this pointless, lengthy questioning with no end in sight… it figures….” I sort of trail off.

"So I have to… Do more?"

“Who knows? I don’t think any answer I gave to that would help here.” I consider something. “The guy who killed Mats Rumen… I mean, did Rumen die the day of that whole robbery business?”

"...Yeah. The same night. And I... Brought them to see him."

“…Them. I see.” I nod. “A lot of nasty feuds right outside my radius. I wonder if it worked. If this is even related. …One of them had an eyepatch, right? That asshole, whoever he is… though I’d guess it was the other one, since I can’t imagine why the fuck someone going to bomb the place would do anything he did.”

"Uh... Yeah."

“Okay.” This doesn’t actually provide any useful information. “Apparently everything is… over. For me, at least. Mystery solved. Just one thing I have to do for Howard later today, and then our deal will be over. I don’t really know what will happen after that… I suppose it’s up to me to figure out again.”

"Well... Umm... Even if something goes wrong... I promise not to betray you, okay? It's like that. Repayment."

“Yeah. Okay. I kind of doubt it’ll be that simple. Or maybe some weird part of me just hopes it won’t.” I sigh, and head over to where my bed is. “I’m out of whatever sage advice I have. You can let yourself out. I’m taking a nap.”

"Umm... Okay." He gets up.

I lie down, awaiting the sound which indicates he’s gone.

He sort of awkwardly stares at her and leaves slowly, until the door is closed.

Right. Okay. That was. Um. Weird.

10:15 PM

That aside.

10:16 PM

Pretend to be a woman for a bit. Hah.

10:17 PM

…

10:19 PM

I wonder if that’s something I’ve avoided intentionally.

10:19 PM

As opposed to… what? I guess that just being who I am?

10:20 PM

Maybe who we are is just the same as who we pretend to be.

10:21 PM

If that’s the case, I really should get on being someone who can succeed.

10:22 PM

I attempt to have a very feminine and emotional mental breakdown prior to collapsing. Instead I just don’t feel great.

10:22 PM

((End session.))

Carolyn wakes up.

She takes a moment to gather herself, before stepping out of bed and proceeding to prepare herself for the day with a shower and other menial restroom tasks. Once she's finished, she gathers her belongings.

"Good morning…" Ethfan groans.

"Feeling well rested, I hope? There was something I wished to speak to you about, some concerning news I received last night."

"Oh great. As if we don’t already have enough of that."

"I received a call from Fredrick Wight, wishing to discuss the death of Grace. Apparently he was tipped off by two unknown individuals that I would be attempting to murder his daughter. I assume you can understand why this may pose an issue."

He lets out a frustrated groan, which strangely transitions into a laugh. "...Do you have any guesses as to who?"

"Dana Craig and her companion, Ariel, would be my primary suspicion. They have the knowledge of my activities and reason to wish to protect Grace."

"...It's a possibility. However, I feel like if this was someone who knew Grace personally they wouldn't going through her father like this. It's a rather stupid gamble if you know either of them, don't you think?" He shrugs.

"I suppose you have a point. Bob Smith appears to be aware of my activities, but you informed me he was incarcerated. My coworker, Matrick, may have overheard his accusations during that scuffle, and he has already worked behind my back to assist a detective in my arrest."

"Matrick would indeed be my other suspect. Niebel also has reasons to go against us, so he's not entirely possible to disqualify if he's done his research."

"I considered him as well, yes. Though, from my discussions with him, he does not particularly seem to be the type to care about the life of a girl he's never met. If he simply wishes to get us arrested, going through the police would be the smarter play."

"He could just lack evidence." Ethfan nods. "Regardless, it's just speculation for now. And I doubt it will lead to anything."

"I suppose. On a different subject, I do believe you said I would be receiving a mission for the New Edlightenment today. Have we reached the appropriate time to follow up on that matter?"

"We're going to free your father. Tomorrow."

Carolyn freezes for a moment. She heard the words accurately, but they were so unexpected that it takes a few seconds for her to quell the immediate thoughts that she must have misheard Ethfan. As she finishes this, a smile rises to her face "What a wonderful goal. May I inquire on the steps necessary to accomplish such a result?"

"You, me, and the other members of the Edlightenment in town are going to meet together underground and drive out in a truck. We stop by the prison on the way, free him, and head to our base. Preferably we're able to pick up Bob as well... But I wouldn't mind going without him at this stage. He's truly insufferable." Ethfan gets up. "For now, we ought to make sure everything's in order. I don't want any surprise complications tomorrow."

"Apologies, but I cannot help feeling that you rushed over the most significant portion of the process. A prison break is not as simple as driving up to the prison. I do appreciate the sentiment, but I would prefer to be aware of the finer details."

"We have someone on the inside. Several, really... But only one is of any note."

"I see. I suppose gratitude is in order, I have to say that I never saw this possibility as something that I would come to see pass. On behalf of all those that my father will help once free, I thank you for making these arrangements."

"...Right." He looks at Carolyn strangely. "I think we ought to prioritize 2 things. The first is checking up on Gordon and Eryn, the 2 Edlightenment members who'll be joining us. It's my understanding Eryn's been cured of Lelouch Maoziwam's spell."

"I do hope being under control of that perfume was not too distressing for her. It does not seem to be a particularly pleasant experience."

"I have no idea." He shrugs. "They should be at Johnner's hideout. I'll take you there."

She nods "I look forward to it. Are you ready to depart?"

"Yes." He gets up and walks out.

Carolyn follows closely behind.

"If I asked you to guess where he was hidden, what would you assume?"

"Underneath a place of business that appears otherwise unassuming and legitimate. Such a location is where I would operate out of, were I to run a group such as his."

"Correct… But you’re probably underestimating the size of this 'business'."

"Hm..." She takes a moment to think "You mentioned he was religious, yes? Perhaps he is blending those aspects of his life, such as by locating his hideout at a church."

"No… I meant the mall."

"It would appear Johnner is safe from any detectives with my level of intuition. I do prefer smaller businesses, to be honest, so I cannot say I am a regular there."

"It’s so stupid… It may perhaps be brilliant. Or it might simply be Johnner’s usual brand of stupidity."

"If it is still his hideout, then I assume it has worked. Intelligence is not always required for a successful career."

"True enough." A massive explosion suddenly erupts in the distance.

Carolyn flinches but does not break her composure "Oh dear, I do hope that was not in a populated area."

"I think… That was the mall." Ethfan runs towards it.

Carolyn runs after him "To look on the bright side, if Johnner was caught in the blast, he seemed to be relatively satisfied with his life. After all, Mr. Amon's funeral went quite well, and was rather recent."

Ethfan doesn't answer. When they reach the mall, the only thing left is a giant crater. Police have surrounded it.

Carolyn approaches a police officer "My apologies, may I inquire about the incident here? If you do not have your hands full at the moment, of course."

"There was an explosion." Random cop.

"Did the mall happen to be open? It would be a shame if anyone was caught in the blast."

"You can read about it in the news later." Cop.

"Thank you for your time." She returns to Ethfan "Shall we move on to the second item on our agenda?"

"…I suppose so." Ethfan sighs and keeps staring at the crater.

"If you need a moment, I understand. I assume you were close with the two we came here to meet?"

"Oh, right… They’re probably… Too…"

"Eryn seemed rather cheerful when I met her. Assuming nothing has happened, she shall be preserved that way. It would have been more useful to have her around, but her death is only a loss by comparison. I cannot speak for Gordon, unfortunately."

"…Why?" He isn’t addressing Carolyn.

"I am sure Johnner did not have a shortage of enemies he'd accrued. His death was the obvious result of his lifestyle."

"…Hm. You’re right. But… It doesn’t quite feel right. I hadn’t finished hating him."

"The chaotic series of coincidences we live in does not work on your timetable. Many turn to fate, or the plan of some higher being to explain it, but the truth is much less pretty. No one can predict when suffering for occur for no reason at all. That is the guiding principle of Edlightenment, is it not? You must reach happiness, so that when you're caught off guard with the fragility of life, you shall be ready."

"I don’t miss him." He snaps. "He was a horrible son of a bitch that I despised from the bottom of my heart."

"Still, you sound as if you were not ready for his death. I do hope the city fares better in that regard. After all, will this not create a... power vacuum, of sorts?"

"Not ready… Are you implying I cared about him? Don’t insult me like that."

"...It is not my place to say. Should you not be thinking about more practical concerns at the moment, considering the situation?"

"I don’t need your lecture."

"Very well. Shall I wait silently for you to finish?" (edited)

"Don’t mock me either." Ethfan. As Ethfan stares at the crater, Carolyn spots Howard over by it.

She leaves Ethfan behind and approaches Howard, mentally preparing to reach for the gun in her purse if the encounter turns for the worse. "Greetings, Detective Scott."

"…Blythe." He sighs.

"You seem to be having a rather poor week. Assuming this was not the police's handiwork, of course."

He chuckles.

"I suppose I would not be a sight you were particularly hoping to be met with upon visiting... what was the mall. To be quite honest, I do not have any important business with you, either. Still, I thought it might be pleasant to take the moment to get to know you a little better. Our conversations have been quite crowded with accusations recently, and I do not know if you have anyone checking up on your mental state."

"Are you going to kill me, Blythe?"

She shrugs "Paranoia of this sort is understandable after the series of recent tragedies. I apologize if I have ever done something to give off that impression."

"Just hurry up if you’re gonna go for it."

Carolyn purses her lips and thinks for a moment "One would expect an individual who is satisfied with their life to practice better self preservation. I suppose even with your principle of selfish living, with your recent failures, there is not much to be happy about. It could be time for a change in scenery, an early retirement perhaps?"

He chuckles. "I’m just the impatient type."

"I suppose you could say I'm the same, in a sense. Age has dulled it a bit, but I was certainly never fond of waiting around for life to take its toll."

He doesn’t answer.

"...Do you still intend to make an attempt at my arrest? As long as we're inquiring regarding future plans, I thought I'd ask."

"No."

"How kind of you. I truly appreciate it, detective."

"I’m going for your life." He turns around and pulls out his gun.

Having prepared for this moment, Carolyn acts without thinking, as if executing a series of code rather than undergoing her usual steps of logic underlying every action. She reaches for her own gun and fires as soon as its muzzle overlaps with her target.

A crowbar swings right through Carolyn’s gun as she raises it. "There you go." Howard. Ray "Kite" Elliott exits his hiding spot and turns to Carolyn with a grim expression. He’s wearing a cheap plastic suit that looks like a beetle, and he’s covered in soot. "Found you." Carolyn recognizes his voice as the one who called out to her after Gus's death. ((End session))

((Saturday))

Carolyn reels her empty hand back, shocked and confused. "This is bad... I need... time to think! Yes, I just need to buy time, I can find a way out of this." She smiles at her new guest "O-oh my, and who might this be? A friend of yours, Detective Scott?"

Not my business anymore. Howard turns away from her. "I’m the one you should be paying attention to!" Kite swings his crowbar at Carolyn.

Carolyn takes a step back "Yes... My apologies, where are my manners? Let's begin with introductions. I am Carolyn Blythe, though I believe you are already aware of that. May I ask your name?"

((Roll))

((19))

Carolyn dodges the blow. Kite ignores the question and just attacks again. Ethfan grabs onto Carolyn’s arm and pulls her away. "Run!"

Carolyn accepts this and runs with him.

Ethfan leads her into an alleyway.

"Are you aware of who that boy was? I attempted to get information out of him... but he was rather uncooperative."

Kite is still chasing them. "I’ve encountered him before. He looks… Somewhat different, however." Ethfan.

Carolyn continues running "And what of his motivation in this encounter? What have I done to incur his anger?"

Kite grabs Carolyn from behind and pulls her back. "Shut up! Let me do my own speech!" Ethfan also pulls on Carolyn. "Shouldn’t you wait for your friend with the eyepatch for this?" Kite, naturally, does not have an eyepatch. His eyes are both perfectly normal.

"Ah... So you do wish to deliver a speech? My apologies for fleeing. I simply did not understand how you wished to accomplish such a task, were I to be knocked out with your crowbar, that is."

"Shut up! You don’t get to talk here!" Not after you killed mom and dad. Kite. Ethfan lets go of Carolyn and tries to stab him. The blade completely breaks apart on impact. "…Even knives?" Kite punches him in the face.

"Mother and father...? No, but... They were supposed to be..." Carolyn shoots daggers at Ethfan upon this thought. She quickly returns her eyes to Kite, with her best attempt at a peaceful, comforting expression "...Were you an Edlightenment child, by any chance?"

Kite grits his teeth. "…His partner was." Ethfan covers the bruise with his hand but Kite just starts repeatedly beating him. "Stop interrupting!" Kite.

Carolyn pays no mind to this "Then... what about your parents? If you do not mind me asking, of course. I assume you'd rather have the target of your anger know what I've done to deserve it, yes?"

"…My eye just got healed. Don’t go giving my bro all of this credit." Kite moves away from Ethfan and towards Carolyn. Ethfan is laying on the ground, in clear pain.

"Ah, so there was a misunderstanding? I see. I believe, unfortunately, you are also under one. How old are you, if I may ask?"

"Don’t you dare try to pretend you’re innocent!" That'd be a pretty shitty twist at this point. Kite. (edited)

"No, no... Of course not. I was simply wondering if, at that time, you were old enough to truly comprehend the teachings around you."

"The annoying girl with the pink hair already told me about your stupid ideology." Kite switches his crowbar to his other hand. "…Thanks for the reminder, though. Now I remember to make sure I send you down to that hell suffering."

"So, you respect your parents enough to avenge them... but not enough to trust their decisions? Everyone at that banquet was a loyal believer in Edlightenment. I only did what they would have wanted."

...Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. "...Ha. The only decision I trust is my own. That's the power of a real superhero." Kite punches Carolyn in the face.

Carolyn does not let this break her composure "I understand. Do not forget, however, that heavy is the head that wears the crown. If this is your decision alone... then your betrayal of your parents' wishes is yours alone as well."

Shut the fuck up and die. "Ha... Guess what? I just decided you want to get beat to death by me. Guess you must be a real believer of me, huh?" Kite hits her again.

"Of course I believe in you. That is what you want, is it not? The approval of a parental figure? I apologize for not sending you away with them, but allow me to say on their behalf... It is very impressive what you've done here today. Tracking me down and cornering me... you could be truly appreciated if you put your talents to a better use. To honor their memory."

"Shut the fuck up! The only approval I need is my own!" Why can't she just skip straight to hating me. It'd be so much easier. Kite. (edited)

"...I apologize for making assumptions." Carolyn holds out her arms as if offering a hug "I do not blame you... You have emotional baggage that must be released, and this is your maladaptive way of doing so. If you let me into your life, I can help. You're not alone."

Kite swings the crowbar through her left hand. It cuts clean through without resistance, and the destroyed piece of flesh that was once Carolyn's hand hits the pavement with a dull thud.

Despite all her attempts to maintain composure, every thought in her body is temporarily overcome by the pain coming from the bloody stump at the end of her arm. Her remaining hand takes hold of that arm, as she releases a short scream before gritting her teeth and holding back the fear and pain with every fiber of her body, waiting for the adrenaline to kick in. "I have to... focus... don't give him... what he wants..."

Kite punches her in the face, and keeps beating her. "Come on! Tell me how much you hate me!" Then you can experience even a fraction of the pain I’ve got!

"You're... misguided... no one... is beyond... redemption..." She leans against the wall of the alleyway "If you... live... with hate... you'll die... with hate..."

"That’s the goal!" He keeps beating her.

"Think of... all the people... who want you... to be happy! Your 'bro'... your parents..."

"I don’t care about them! And what they want from me… Is to be a hero!" Being happy’s not the goal of a hero.

Carolyn pauses for a moment. "A hero... Childish, stunted development, too much fiction? Turned to it as an escape... grew up on it in lieu of parental guidance? Surrounded by enablers... Compliment him on heroics? Might encourage him to continue attacking. Insults, then? No... promise positive reinforcement. He needs hope." "What kind of hero... beats a woman in an alley? That's the role... anti-heroes play, you know? You have to... bring me to justice. Expose my crimes... everyone will praise you then."

"I! Don’t! Want! Praise!" Kite punctuates every word with another punch. "Stop… It…" Ethfan crawls forward slightly.

"Then what... do you want...? I will never hate you... I will never be in pain... I am already free."

Why do the villains always gotta have it so easy? He raises the crowbar up in the air. "Don’t kill her…!" Ethfan reaches out but can’t reach either of them. "You don’t… You don’t want this."

"I'm... okay with this. The Edlightenists will carry on my will..." A look of fear rushes to her face "No... that's not right. I believed in what I was doing... with all my heart. I knew I was in the right, that's why... my legacy was passed on. Gus passed happiness onto Johnner, because he never broke his convictions. That's what survives... inspiration to future generations. If I let this man win... his hatred will be passed on. I'll exist forever in happiness, but the world will turn to darkness. He'll inspire everyone he knows to misery, and they'll inspire everyone they know in turn. One action of pure intentions can change so many lives! I must not let that happen! If I die, it cannot be from giving up! I will go down fighting, and everyone who hears of my death shall learn true happiness!" Carolyn, beaten and bruised, puts every ounce of strength she has remaining into rushing at Kite. Logically, she knows she is out of strength to stop him, she doesn't even know if she can move anymore, but that no longer matters. Her survival instincts have kicked in, and more than that, she has hope. Hope for her future. With a roar, she finally makes an attempt to stop him, to charge at him and disarm him.

((Roll))

((18))

Kite still kicks her down. There we go! "She’s not the villain here." Ethfan speaks in a strangely distant tone. "She’s… She’s a victim too." "Huh? What are you talking about? She’s alive, isn’t she?" Kite.

Carolyn, in pain on the ground, turns to Ethfan with a confused stare "I... help... victims..."

"She… She just did what her father told her. She was a kid, just like you are… Doing what she was told to do… Because she didn’t know anything else…" Ethfan starts to cry. Kite stares at him strangely.

Carolyn's hand curls into a fist, scraping against the ground "Don't... talk about him like that...! Like... like it was some kind of mistake... to listen to him..."

Kite looks back at Carolyn quietly. "You… You’ve been manipulated all your life too, haven’t you? Even Lillian… All she does… She does it for her father’s approval. Wouldn’t you… Do the same?" Ethfan breathes heavily.

"I do... what I do... because it's right! My father... was the same... we don't seek approval... we just help... regardless of what others think..."

"Doesn’t she… Sound just like you?" Ethfan. Kite swings the crowbar through a wall aggressively, and lifts up Ethfan by the collar. "Then who’s the villain, huh? Everywhere I go, someone’s got some excuse! Let me just reach the end already! Tell me who the villain is!" Ethfan replies dryly. "…I am."

"What is he playing at...? Is he simply suicidal? He's seen this man's ruthlessness. This is... good for me. Edlightenment will need a new leader. The jailbreak will likely be put on hold, after all. But..." Carolyn grits her teeth and watches silently.

"Aghhhh...!" Kite smashes him into a wall, raises up the crowbar and then... Simply lets him go. "I'm getting pretty tired of that routine too." He walks out of the alleyway.

"..." Carolyn reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone, weakly dialing 911.

Ethfan weakly starts laughing miserably, slowly getting louder and louder. "911, what is your emergency?" (edited)

"My associate and I... have been... assaulted. Ah, and... I appear to have lost... one of my hands. I was... at the mall, and..." She explains the path they took when running.

"Alright, an ambulance is on it's way. Who did that to you?"

"A man in a... beetle costume..."

"What?"

"Yes... quite a curious sense of fashion... I suppose no one taught him... how to dress..." Carolyn goes quiet "No, that isn't right. A normal costume wouldn't shatter a knife... What is Ehn playing at?"

"Is this man nearby?"

"...No... He's already left... I was delayed in... getting to my phone..." Carolyn bites her lip "There's no point sending the police after him. Ethfan was right that he's a victim, at least. The last thing he needs is charges pressed against him... If they could even stop him. There's no point getting police needlessly killed so soon... not when Howard seems to be working with him."

"Alright. Please stay on the line, the ambulance will be with you soon."

Carolyn takes the moment to rest against the ground as she waits. She stares at her former hand, tossed aside carelessly "This fleshy cage is a prison of inevitable misery... I was so close to freedom... but it wouldn't be right to leave them behind... everyone who needs my help. Now, my hand will rot, decompose, and return to the Earth. No eternal reflection, just a forgotten clump of meat. No matter... my soul is still full... this body is meaningless..."

Ethfan turns to her. "…You’re welcome."

Carolyn closes her eyes. She doesn't want to feel anything from Ethfan. "...I forgive you."

"…Forgive me? I saved your life."

"By lying to that boy. You did what you had to, to maximize happiness... but his head is filled with confused falsehoods now."

He chuckles miserably. "Who’s isn’t?"

Carolyn just responds with a groan.

The ambulance arrives and takes them to the hospital. ((End session))

7:03 PM

((Okay actually nvm))

7:04 PM

((I thought we’d skip forward immediately but maybe not))

7:04 PM

Carolyn’s phone rings while she’s in the ambulance.

She slowly moves to check the caller.

It’s Grobber.

"...Okay... this may be useful... somehow..." She answers.

Shawn is standing in a hallway.

I’m here again…

A door creaks open slightly.

“Kite?”

No response.

…

5:13 PM

“Are you there?”

5:14 PM

Shawns voice is creaky and desperate

No response.

I don’t want to open the door

5:15 PM

Can’t you just let me out this once

The door creaks open slightly more.

It’s unavoidable, I guess

5:19 PM

Shawn steps forward

5:21 PM

Shawn reaches for the doorknob (edited)

5:24 PM

I know what’s behind this door. I don’t want to open it. I shouldn’t. Do I have to? Why am I doing this.

5:24 PM

Shawn opens the door

Mats Rumen's corpse lays on the floor of the room.

“What do you want!”

5:26 PM

“What do you want from me!”

5:27 PM

“Leave me alone!!!”

Another door creaks slightly open.

“Aagh!!”

5:30 PM

Shawn marches forward, frustrated

5:30 PM

He walks to the door and opens it

Jeff Johnner’s corpse lays inside.

"These were... you were murderers! criminals!"

5:33 PM

"If I didn't do it, someone would have!"

5:34 PM

"I'm..."

The final door creaks open slightly.

I know whats behind that door

5:37 PM

I don't want to face him. I can't... I...

5:38 PM

Shawn opens the final door

Kite's corpse lays on the cold hard floor.

Shawn walks over to his body and holds it beneath his arms

5:41 PM

Kite's body doesn't exist anymore, does it? It was blown up

5:41 PM

He won't even be able to be buried

5:41 PM

This is the only way I can hold him now

It fades away into dust in his arms.

5:41 PM

Wait

5:41 PM

Please

5:41 PM

Come back

5:41 PM

Please

5:41 PM

Please

5:42 PM

Please

5:42 PM

Don't leave me

5:42 PM

Please

5:42 PM

Please

5:42 PM

I can't lose you again.

5:42 PM

Please

5:42 PM

please

5:43 PM

i love you Kite. I've loved you since the day we met

5:43 PM

I don't know what to

5:43 PM

"Shawn Duveldt." Mats's voice comes from behind him.

Shawn turns around

Everyone he’s met in Advehnt Guard, dead or alive, is standing there. They’re all armed.

They deserve it

5:47 PM

But if anyone was going to kill me... I would have wanted it to be him.

5:48 PM

I've hurt him enough. Hell, I killed him.

5:49 PM

I don't want to die. Not really. But what's the point of living anymore. There's nothing here for me but pain and suffering and grief and loss.

5:49 PM

I'm a terrible person and my sins can't be erased. I deserve the worst punishment possible.

5:51 PM

Why can't someone just kill me.

5:51 PM

Kite's eyes were healed before he died. But I didn't get to see it. I never got to look him in the eyes.

5:51 PM

I never got to say goodbye to him

They rush him with an all-out attack from Masquerade V.

You got me! Ahahahaha....

"Giving you that power was a mistake!" Ehn. "You're just a selfish boy, hurting everyone for your love." Lillian. "You're a villain, Shawn. You could never do anything for anyone but yourself." Howard. "You could have had all the love you wanted if you'd simply stuck with us." Jade and Lelouch. "You're a criminal! Just like those you fight, you deserve nothing short of hell!" Jessica. "I trusted you... And you used that trust to become a murderer." Kingsley. "You swore to protect me... But you didn't, did you? And then... You still sided with the one who did that to me?" Maria. "Lelouch did that to me... And yet I'm the one who suffered at your hands." Mats. "How much more will people have to suffer for your pathetic ego? How much longer will you let your life tear down and hurt everyone you see? When will you understand that you're the villain?" Everyone else.

Is what I did so wrong!? Am I so evil!? I just... I just wanted to do good! I just wanted to feel like I was doing good! And... And I don't fucking know how!! I don't know what I'm doing ever!!! I'm scared and I'm alone and I just

6:07 PM

I'm the worst fucking person who's ever lived

6:08 PM

Shawn's eyes gleaned yellow. Maybe if they destroy his shadow they'll fix what's wrong with him. What's broken.

6:10 PM

He can realize the error of his ways and stop being such a terrible person and stop hurting everyone he loves and maybe then he won't be the worst person who ever lived

6:12 PM

Can't you do that for me? Destroy my shadow? Pick out the parts of my brain that make me awful!?

6:12 PM

It wouldn't be so hard.

6:12 PM

You'd be a hero

6:12 PM

You'd have stopped me.

Kill me! Unmake me! I'm nothing without him.

Kite approaches him. "This is what you deserve, bro."

"I know."

6:23 PM

"What I wanted wasn't wrong. Why wasn't I allowed to be happy? Why can't I make it work?"

6:23 PM

"Am I just broken, Kite?"

"You will be now." Kite swings the crowbar through his heart, destroying the beetle suit around it. He becomes merely Shawn Duveldt.

"..."

6:25 PM

"Is the Advent Guard over?" (edited)

6:25 PM

"You promised you'd come back to me."

6:26 PM

"You... you can't..."

6:26 PM

"Don't just leave me here..."

They all slowly fade away.

"Why can't you just kill me!!!"

6:27 PM

"I can't stand this! I cannot stand this! I don't want to live anymore!!!!"

In time, the only ones left are Shawn’s parents.

Shawn breaks down crying on the floor

They just turn and walk out through the door.

"I can't be alone!!! I don't want to be alone!!!"

The door slowly creaks closed.

Shawns eyes still burn bright yellow

6:33 PM

He cries and cries and cries

When it closes, the room simply becomes an endless dark void.

This must be hell. If I'm still alive, then hell cannot possibly be worse then this

And then, finally, Shawn falls. He wakes up in the computer room, handcuffed and on his knees. Howard is standing next to him. ((End session))

((No session this week))

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 9/19/2023 1:12 PM

((Saturday))

He wakes up in the computer room, handcuffed and on his knees. Howard is standing next to him.

I try to get up, despite how weak I feel and how awful my headache is (edited)

Howard pushes him back down. "Not yet."

"Why...?"

2:06 PM

"Why did you..."

2:06 PM

"I should've let him kill you while i had the chance."

"Heh… Tragic though we find it, life’s always got a plan it seems." He chuckles. "You’re a murderer too, kid. Actions have consequences. It was always gonna turn out this way, no matter what we did. I just lined my cards up right." (edited)

"You're horrible."

"Well, at least I’m honest."

"Say whatever you want about me. I don't care."

2:13 PM

"Why did you kill him? He's done... He's innocent in all this."

2:13 PM

"He would have helped you given the chance."

"It should’ve been you, you know? It was your suit, after all. But I guess you got lucky. I can respect that." He grimaced. "So, here’s the deal. I’ll give you exactly what he wanted… And all you’ve gotta do is play along."

That bomb would have killed both of us...

2:16 PM

"What he wanted????"

2:16 PM

"I can tell you exactly what he wanted, and it was to be here now with me."

2:17 PM

"Don't fucking... Don't fucking say that!"

"You sure that wasn’t what you wanted?"

"Shut up!!"

2:18 PM

"You didn't know him!"

"I know everything I need to. Guys like him are a dime a dozen in my line of work, you know? Let me see… He wanted fame, right? Wanted everyone to know that stupid nickname of his."

"He was more then that." I'm holding back tears (edited)

"People are simpler than you think. You’ll find a replacement in no time."

"What, like you did?"

2:35 PM

“Don’t lecture me about finding a replacement. Or are you telling me you’re over Gus?”

He doesn't immediately answer. "...Look, here's the point. You're going to jail now. For pretty much everything that's gone wrong in this city over the past 2 weeks. There's no changing that. But... The public ought to buy it more if you say it yourself, you know? There's a room full of reporters out there... I'm giving you one chance to tell the world who's name to remember."

“You’re letting me take the fall?”

2:39 PM

“I’m 17!!”

2:40 PM

“In the last two weeks me and kite have done more for this city then you have in the last however many years you’ve been around.”

"I don't give a shit. Take it or leave it. You're not talking me out of anything."

“Why should I blame it all on myself. What’s the trade-off here? Why shouldn’t I just tell everyone that you’re a murderer.”

2:42 PM

“Do you have my parents hostage or something?”

"Because if you do, the statement just won't be released."

"So what?"

"I'm giving you the choice. Fame or spite. What do you wanna remember this moment for, huh?"

“Is this your idea of mercy?”

"Does it matter?"

"You took away the only things in the world that mattered to me. Now you want me to, what, get on a podium and tell everyone how sorry I am?"

2:52 PM

"Why?!"

"I already told you. It makes things a little easier."

"For you?"

"Yeah. I just explained this."

"You're the worst grief counselor I've ever met."

2:57 PM

"I'd hate to imagine how you've been handeling Gus's murder."

"I know you're trying to piss me off. It's not working."

2:57 PM

"You know why that is?"

"I saw him right after he died, by the way. He looked weak. Tired."

2:58 PM

"Do you think you could have helped him?"

"No matter how you might pretend, I'm better than you, kid. 'Cause I'm gonna do something about it." Howard stares him down. Kingsley walks in. "Uh... Sir?" He gives a slight nod to both of them.

I snap at him "You're the one who's pretending, you asshole!"

3:03 PM

"You're the worst! The worst kind of person. Worse then Maoziwam, or Johnner, or the Edlightment, or anything else!"

"I know." Howard doesn't visibly react. "They're waiting." Kingsley. "Right. So what's your choice, kid?" Howard.

"Shit, right now?"

3:09 PM

I sit still for a second, before getting up

3:09 PM

"I'm bad at improv. I was hoping to write a speech."

"Now or never." Howard.

A little over a week ago, I would have been terrified to do this. Stage fright, yknow. Every stupid dork kid like me's biggest fear was public speaking. This is so much bigger then something in front of class, though. If you told me then that I'd be giving a speech to news reporters after spending a week as a superhero, I wouldn't have believed you A little over a week ago, I would have been terrified. But a little over a week ago, I met the most important person in my life. I lost him this morning. So I guess I'm over it.

3:13 PM

"Lets go."

Howard and Kingsley lead Shawn out of the room into a room full of reporters. At the back, in a holding cell, is Harriet Kadin. "I give you... Shawn Duveldt."

((hiya))

((hi))

I walk forward, and for a second looks back spitefully at the man who introduced me (edited)

Harriet frowns. "Didn't we talk on twitter once?"

I look at the woman in the cage and very visibly recognize her, but don't say anything about it. (edited)

"Your statement, Shawn?" Old man.

"..."

3:30 PM

"My name is Shawn Duveldt. For roughtly the past week and a half, me and my partner have been a team of superheros, fighting against criminal organizations within this city. Our group was called the Advent Guard. I am called Beetle, and he was called Kite. In our adventures around this city, we encountered a great number of terrible people. Ranging from small time criminals who acted in their own interests, to larger organizations that would coerce and manipulate people into their ranks. I do not feel bad about what I have done. I believed, and still do believe, that what I did was justice. And I was able to execute it in a way the police force was either too scared to, or too wrapped up in to take care of without conflicting interests."

3:30 PM

"I have information on some of these organizations. I am prepared to reveal it publicly." (edited)

3:31 PM

"That, too, is my justice."

"Oh shit, superheroes are real?"

"You've met one already."

"Seriously, how do I know you?"

The reporters record and take some photos. "That's all, folks." The old man takes Shawn into the cell with Harriet.

“Hey, I’m not done!”

3:38 PM

“The boss of the avengard mafia! I know who it is!”

Harriet sits up.

"Don't make accusations without evidence. It's a bad look." He shuts the cell door.

"It's Maoziwam!"

3:41 PM

"Put that on your front pages."

The reporters leave.

"Damnit."

"Maoziwam?"

"Shuichi Maoziwam. The rich dude?"

3:43 PM

"I'm sorry, that's a bad start. Harriet, right?"

3:43 PM

Shawn reaches out his hand

Harriet shakes it.

The old man leaves.

Shawn sits in the corner of the cell

"Shuichi Maoziwam.. god, it all comes back to that fucking guy, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..."

3:46 PM

"Have you met his daugher? She's a real bitch."

3:46 PM

"Oh, well..."

3:47 PM

"I should confess something flat-out. Remember that guy last night in the weird halloween costume with the crowbar?"

"Uh.. yeah."

"That was my... uh... friend. He had an audio device in his ear. I heard most things that happened then."

3:49 PM

"So, I guess I sorta know you already. Not really though. It's nice to meet formally."

3:50 PM

"What happened to you afterwards?"

"Oh." Harriet frowns. "I feel like I should be mad at you for that, but to be honest.. I didn't have that much personal investment in the whole thing, so, whatever."

3:54 PM

"Anyways, what happened afterwards is that a guy I thought was a weird tulpa was real and tried to murder me like five times and then someone who I knew I couldn't trust and who I set up so many mental and physical barricades around myself solely so I wouldn't start to care about them betrayed me and left me here. And I still feel awful about it! I knew this was coming! Everyone could see it! I prepared myself for this, but I still wanted to believe.. that I was worth saving. That she would come back for me. That rancid bitch."

3:54 PM

Harriet buries her face in her worthless legs.

"..." "My friend insisted that he go to that place alone. I tried my best to fight against it, but he was insistent. In the end, I made him promise that he would come back in one piece. He didn't keep it." "I don't know, I guess I should also have seen it coming. He was always one for a power trip. And it was a trap that we walked right into. But I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish it could have been that he listened and he stayed with me. Would things have been ok then?" (edited)

This woman is brought into the cell with them.

"...Hi, Lillian."

"Don't act smug." She sit down. "You're here with me now, too."

"Kite died. I don't know if you'd have heard."

"Good."

"You're still no less of an asshole."

She looks at his clothes. "You're less of one."

"Yeah. I guess I'm not much of a superhero anymore."

4:05 PM

"But you're not really a cult leader anymore, either."

"I was never anything like that."

"Then what would you call yourself?"

She doesn't answer. "Who are you?" She asks Harriet.

"Oh, I'm Harriet." Harriet says quietly. "I'm not supposed to be mixed up in all this.. or, if I was, it was all supposed to be hypothetical, you know? From a distance."

"I've never heard of you."

"She was at this thing last night at the mall."

4:11 PM

"Wait, why were you at that thing at the mall last night anyway?"

4:12 PM

"Same with that other girl, i think Dana? What happened to her?"

"That's a great question. I don't know. I was having a long dream.. and then I woke up in an honest-to-god cage."

4:12 PM

"I have no idea. I think she might've been bleeding out the last time I saw her."

"Did someone kidnap you or something?"

4:13 PM

"Do you have like enemies in the mob?"

"Uh.. I don't know if I want to talk about that. Sorry."

"Hmph."

4:17 PM

"Well, whatever."

4:18 PM

Shawn puts his head down "I don't really even know why I'm asking. I'm done. I don't have my suit and I'm in jail. And there's no point in doing this without Kite."

4:19 PM

"There's nothing left for me to do."

Harriet leans her head against the side of the wall, wanting desperately to be anywhere else. "I wonder if he'll ever come back for me," She says quietly, almost without sound.

"Do you trust him?"

Harriet laughs. "No."

"Then what's the point?"

"It's the wanting to trust xem. Of thinking, maybe one day she's gonna come back for me, because maybe one day I'll have earned it. But I never will."

"Why do you have to prove anything to them?"

Harriet looks blearily at Shawn, exhausted. "Because - I need to justify myself. I need to make up for.. the fact that it's me."

"..."

4:42 PM

"Have you ever played Masquerade V?"

"..What?"

"It's a video game. Great inspiration to me personally."

4:48 PM

"There's a bit in it where... Well, I guess its more of a reoccuring thing. There's all these people who feel like they need to justify their existnece by performing some kind of... societal function, I guess. Whether that's spending time with a creepy high school teacher or sucking up to a clearly awful principle or whatever."

4:48 PM

"What they learn, and I guess what the whole game is about, is that it's illusory. The people they see as dictating their value as people is just a singluar petty asshole, and they have value as individuals outside of that."

4:50 PM

"At the end of the day, the thing that justifies your existence is up to you. The choice to be beholden to the judgement of some asshole is a choice, and we can make different ones. I don't know that person, but they seems like a real asshole from what you've said. Whether they come back for you or not doesn't really matter."

"How selfish."

"Shut up."

Harriet laughs wetly, now scrubbing lamely at her face. "She is an asshole. But I am too. God, you don't even know.."

"We're all waiting for a knight in shining armor... But only mine will come."

"Right." Harriet croaks. "For sure."

4:55 PM

Harriet pushes away Shawn's words. She'll chew over them later, she decides, with a little pit in her stomach. Not now. "So, you're.. a superhero? Like, for real?"

“I was.”

4:56 PM

“Lillian is a first hand witness. She’s one of the assholes who’s asses I kicked”

4:58 PM

((Okay I have to do a thing for like the next hour or so sorry))

4:58 PM

((Be back then))

((that works out well i actually have to leave to do stuff stoday so we'll cut it here))

((Bye))

((im very glad i could bring back masquerade v relevence))

((im back))

((I cannot resume today))

((

))

((Hi))

((hi))

2:14 PM

"But yeah, me and Kite are a superhero team. We called ourselves the Advent Guard." (edited)

2:14 PM

"We were"

"What does Advent Guard mean?"

"The Advent is short for Adventure"

"That’s incredibly stupid."

"I agree that that's stupid."

Shawn sighs, and looks blankly straight ahead

2:17 PM

"It was his idea. He had a lot of stupid ones."

2:17 PM

"I liked it, though."

2:18 PM

Shawn goes silent

2:21 PM

God, I'm never going to here from him again. Not any more of his awful jokes or his stupid egotistical remarks. He'll never be with me to do something stupid and rash and impulsive again. And... I'll never be there to go along with it. I'll never get to be with him when we're fighting some supervillain and I'll never get to worry about him being safe again. I'll never sit with him late at night and think about how amazing our future is going to be together. I'll never hug him again. I'll never tell him I love him again. I never got to say goodbye(dont click this is internal monologue) (edited)

2:22 PM

"..."

Harriet looks awkwardly to the side, hands wrapped around her waist. She doesn't know how to deal with.. grief. The all-encompassing weight of it, the pulse. The sight of it is vaguely discomforting, especially in person. Her mourning's always been saved for concepts - indistinct blurs of thought and feeling, the death of herself, the death of the person she ought to be, over and over. Even now, in this dinky prison cell with a random teenage boy blabbering on about video games, after Alexi had just left her there, to rot - Harriet recognizes her grief as only ever internal, violent. And the process of externalizing that anger had led her here. So terrifically alone.

2:27 PM

"I don't know what I'm doing." Harriet says.

"..."

"I do."

i dont know what to do anymore. i don't know who I am anymore. Part of me... Most of me must have died when I pushed that button. I pushed that button, didn't I? I'm the one who killed him. I can't even save one single person. and hes the one person I cared about the most. The one I couldn't live without (edited)

2:33 PM

So what am I doing now? Living? Is this life?

2:34 PM

It doesnt feel like it. There's an endless gnawing sensation within me, like something is trying to eat me from the inside out. It's endless

2:35 PM

A swarm of insects consume my body and eat away at my soul

2:35 PM

"..."

"Well, I'm glad someone has this all figured out."

"Don't listen to her. She's like a cultist, or whatever."

"Oh. I didn't know we had these here."

"Don’t oversimplify things."

"What would you call it, then?" (edited)

"Edlightenment."

"Just cuz your cult has a fancy name doesn't mean its not a cult"

"My father knows what he’s doing."

"Your father?"

"…Yes."

"He's not her actual dad. He's like her weird cult dad."

"..Ah. And what cult is this?"

"She said it already, theyre called the Edlightment. It's a weird suicide cult where they believe emotion you feel as you die is the one you'll feel for eternity."

2:56 PM

"They're connected to the mob, somehow."

"Everything's connected to the fucking mob."

I turn to Lillian "How much do you believe in that stuff, anyway?"

"It’s not about belief." Lillian.

"Then what is it?"

"Love, of course."

"Do you really think he loves you? More then just as a tool?"

"Of course he does!"

Harriet butts in. "God. You're really fucking adept at lying to yourself, you know? I don't even know you and I can already tell."

3:05 PM

"Whoever you're talking about - he doesn't have the capacity to love you. He's empty and broken inside."

"That… That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me!"

"It's literally not possible. There's something - just fundamentally wrong and ugly, with him. You can give as much as yourself up as you want, you can slit your throat on the steps of his house and bleed out but it'll never mean anything because he's nothing. He's disgusting. And so are you, for all of this. You're so fucking stupid with need." Harriet glances to the side, face stinging. "It makes me sick."

"Take that back!"

Shawn stays silent

"I won't."

"You don’t know him… You don’t know me… So keep it to yourself!"

"I know enough. God, you're pathetic."

"Don’t lecture me!"

"I don't understand how you can't recognize it for what it is. Blythe and his cronies took you in after they orphanated you and told you that you had a purpose, and now you've done the same to a bunch of other kids."

3:20 PM

"They're using you for their dirty work."

3:24 PM

Shawn kinda trails off at the end, and starts staring into the wall, deep in thought.

"Your boyfriend did that to you. Don’t project those things onto me."

Shawn doesn't have a response

"More than one person can be used."

3:27 PM

Harriet stares at the wall.

"At least you can’t." Lillian motions to her legs.

Harriet glares at her. "Fuck off."

"You started it!"

Geez, aren't they supposed to be adults.

"I'm not going to apologize for being correct."

"Neither am I!"

"Well.. fine." Harriet crosses her arms and stares coldly at the wall.

"Can we talk about something else."

"You didn’t seem the type to be affected by low blows." Lillian continues.

"Are you a fucking child?" Harriet says.

Shawn puts his hands to his temples

"Take back what you said about him!"

"Oh my god, you are. Fucking get over it, you idiot. This is life! The systems and hegemonies and people designed to protect you will fail you, over and over, and you're actively delusional to believe otherwise. He's not coming back for you."

3:55 PM

"No one is."

"…Then at least I’ll be able to get out on my own."

"Shut the fuck up. You're sooo fucking original. Wow!! I can't walk!! I've never heard that one before. It's easier to punch down than it is to actually look at yourself, right? Just for a moment? So you can see - really see - just how deluded you are?"

"..."

Lillian grabs her by the throat and attempts to strangle her.

Harriet begins choking and attempts to pry her off.

((Roll))

“Hey, stop!”

4:15 PM

Shawn pushes them apart

((Roll))

((1 lmao))

((3))

Shawn trips and falls over. Harriet keeps on being choked. Lillian stares her down coldly.

“Shit” Shawn gets back up and pushes them apart again

((Roll))

((4))

Harriet attempts to push her away again.

((Roll))

((4)) ((we suck at this))

Both fail. Lillian looses her grip enough for Harriet to speak. "Apologize."

Shawn rushes in once again and shoves Lillian away really hard

((Roll))

((20))

((Waiting for Harriet’s response before I say the outcome of the roll, to be clear))

((oh sorry))

4:35 PM

"I'm not apologizing to you," Harriet chokes out.

Lillian is pushed over to the floor.

((gotta go))

((damn))

4:40 PM

((was Good tho))

((Wait nvm))

((lol)) (edited)

((I thought I had a thing at 5 but it was actually at 4)) ((I’m dumb))

4:44 PM

((OH WELL))

((did u miss it lol))

((Yes

))

((unfortunate))

((it’s okay.. more time to AG :P))

((i will probably also have to go in like 40 minust so i can get some hw done today lol)) (edited)

4:48 PM

"We're done fighting."

((np))

4:49 PM

Harriet coughs and rubs her throat.

"Do you really think you can tell me what to do?"

"It's over. We're done. Look around you."

4:52 PM

"Save the fighting for actual prison, okay?"

"God." Harriet says. "How long are we gonna be in here for?"

Shawn moves back to the wall and leans against it. "However long we have to. But I don't want to fight anyone, okay. I don't think you do either, Lillian."

"You don’t want to fight anyone?"

"Kite's dead, Lillian."

"What makes you think I care?"

"Well... I don't think you were wrong about me, I guess."

5:03 PM

"...What's important is that we're not going to goad eachother anymore, okay."

"I’d be free right now, if not for you."

"Don't blame me. Kite only started passionately hating you guys after what you did to him, and I was following after him. Really, you brought this onto yourself."

5:07 PM

"But I did too. So we're equals here, I think."

"We’re nowhere near equals."

I don't say anything for a second. There's a really awkward silence (edited)

5:13 PM

"Who was Kite's other bro, Lillian?" (edited)

She smirks.

"What was his name?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." She answers mockingly.

"Don't mock me. I was there during the interview."

"Why would I tell you anything?"

"You've got no reason to withhold it. We're both trapped here."

"I’m not."

"Well I am. I don't see myself getting out anytime soon. If you get out of here, I'll stop being an issue to whatever cult shit you've got."

5:20 PM

"You said you do everything for love, right? Then you'd understand where I'm coming from. I just want closure."

"…It wouldn’t help."

"That's not for you to judge."

"Yes, it is."

"You didn't know him."

"Does that really matter?"

"Just tell me. Please."

Lillian sits down.

Harriet rubs her face, exhausted.

A cop approaches. "Shawn Duveldt. Lillian Mooney. You’re being transferred." "That is not my name." Lillian. ((End session))

"That is not my name." Lillian.

"Transferred?"

2:01 PM

"Where?"

Harriet frowns, confused.

"To prison. You’re going to be held there until trial." Cop. Lillian smirked. "Do you really think that will be able to hold me?" "Yes." The cop handcuffed her again.

Shawn sighs

2:05 PM

"It was nice meeting you, Harriet. I hope you get out of this okay."

2:07 PM

"And, uh, take care of yourself."

The cop handcuffed Shawn as well.

"The Lelouch thing takes a week to wear off, by the way. I'd avoid her until then."

Shawn and Lillian are led away.

2:10 PM

((Channel split unless Harriet wants to say some parting words))

"Goodbye."

Harriet is alone in the cell.

Harriet rests her head against the wall, exhausted. (edited)

2:15 PM

There's no room in her brain for anything other than fear and terror in sinking steps. She never wanted this. Any of this. But from the very beginning it had been the only choice - for her to dig her own grave with her own fucking hands, every action a step further, another shovel of fucking mulch. The blackmail. The phone call. The torture. That pale room. Carl's hand on her shoulder. Alexi winking at her like they shared a fucking secret. Sarah staring at her in the dim light like there was something wrong with her, like she was - the cripple. The needy faggot.

2:15 PM

Harriet buries her face in her hands.

2:16 PM

No one is coming to save her. Isn't that the truth? Hey. Tell me.

…

Harriet closes her eyes and begs herself - to be asleep. Or, failing that, to be someone else. Anyone else.

Harriet finds herself in an unfamiliar apartment. Alexi leaps out of a window onto a fire escape, and ??? chases after him with a knife. As ??? jumps through the window and misses the fire escape, reality seems to pull Harriet with them out of the window as they fall onto the ground below.

Harriet follows.

Both hit the ground. Harriet finds herself back in the same cell with a shock.

Harriet gasps and looks around blearily, trying to figure out if anything's changed.

Nothing.

Harriet stubbornly closes her eyes again, attempting to go back.

Nothing. "Harriet Kadin." A cop approaches.

Harriet looks up at the cop. "Hello?"

"It’s time for your interrogation."

"Um.. okay." Harriet says hesitantly.

They open the door. "Stand up."

"I'm disabled." Harriet says flatly. "I can't walk."

"Oh. Do you have a wheelchair?"

"No." (edited)

2:54 PM

"Not with me currently."

"…Fine. Give me a second." The cop left.

Harriet waits.

The cop returns with some kind of weak looking emergency wheelchair. It’d probably be very uncomfortable if she could feel it.

"Could you help me with this?" Harriet says plainly, gesturing to the chair.

The cop rolls his eyes, and helps Harriet onto the wheelchair.

Harriet bristles, but follows along with it.

Harriet is rolled into the interrogation room.

"Um... Hello." Harriet says.

An intimidating female detective Harriet did not recognize sat down across from her, and the other cop left.

Harriet inclines her head at her.

"Harriet Kadin, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"You’re employed as a secretary for one Carl Tucker?"

"Yes."

3:31 PM

"Can I ask what this is about?"

"You’re not in charge of this interrogation."

Harriet leans back and frowns. "Don't I have a right to a lawyer?"

"Do you know what kind of person calls a lawyer?"

"...A person who wants to be fairly represented in the justice system?"

"A criminal with something to hide."

"I.. don't think that's true."

"Of course you wouldn’t. But it’s true. Lawyers are just designed to protect the guilty from having to face consequences."

"Aren't they, like your colleagues?"

"…In a sense."

"I don't think you should be talking poorly of them."

"Don’t think you can tell me what to do."

"It's just a suggestion."

"You’re a criminal. You’ve lost any authority you might ever have possessed."

Harriet's mouth twists. She feels - something in her move, savagely, like an animal. She's so tired. (edited)

4:08 PM

All she's ever wanted was to be - her own. Not jerked, thoughtlessly, between extremes, to put her hand against the flame and feel it burn, to feel herself cleanly broken in two. She turns her face in the direction of pain. Allows it to wash over her. (edited)

4:08 PM

"You sound like a really shitty cop," she says. (edited)

"I’m the only cop here willing to fight for the law!"

Harriet laughs. "It's nice that you're telling yourself that. Do you have a quota you need to fill or something? How many civilians can I pick off the street and harass in a week?" (edited)

"You weren’t picked off the street. You were at the site of a bombing, completely unharmed while anyone else around died."

"Yes, and I suppose that matters to you, doesn't it. How many people do you kill a year?"

"I never killed anyone."

((gotta goooo sory))

((See ya!))

((Saturday))

((Tomorrow I’ll probably either be late or won’t be able to show up, can we do Sunday instead))

((I suppose so, sure))

((hi))

"I never killed anyone."

"Sure. By inaction, then?"

"Inaction? And what have you done to help people? I spend every day of my life upholding the law to protect people."

Harriet bristles. "Who are you protecting? Who benefits from this?"

"People! Honest working people!"

"Really? By locking up their family members? And refusing to believe them when they tell you about abuse? By turning a blind eye when other cops do it?"

"What are you even talking about?"

Harriet seethes. "You know what I'm fucking talking about. Are you stupid or something?"

"I’m the only one with a functioning brain in this city. Do you really think your family would hear you’re a terrorist and whine to the police for stopping you?"

Harriet dismissively waves her hand. "My family is irrelevant - I don't have one. This isn't about me, okay? This is about - about who gets to be a terrorist." She leans forwards. "It's the ugly, mean brown girl and it's the cripple and it's both at once. You want to hurt me. Because I was an ontological terrorist before all this started. That your city is not full of beautiful people. So you want to hurt me. Because it's good to hurt me. Because it's easy to hurt me. Because it's clean to hurt me." (edited)

2:46 PM

Harriet feels a weight lifted off her chest. It feels - so good to say that and mean it. The compactness of the pain. This body that was built for it.

"I’m just doing my job. You did this to yourself. Do you think you’re smart by committing a crime and making a big show of how racist it is you got caught? Do you think you’re smarter than the system? A system every respectable citizen to ever inhabit this country poured their blood, sweat, and tears into forming? And then you think you can come and change everything to the way you want it because it’s just so hard being you? I may not be a useless brown cripple, but I’m not perfect either. I’m a woman. But you don’t see me hurting everyone else in some big show, do you? No, I put in all the work I can to catch up to men because that’s what’s right!" (edited)

Harriet laughs. nearly giddy with it. "Oh my god. You're really stupid, aren't you? Because from the beginning you've wanted to hurt them just like you want to hurt me. Those men. Because it's unfair. And the only way you've ever been taught to articulate is through state-sanctioned violence, so you take it out on the cripple when you wish it could be the men. I get it now. I bet it makes you feel so smart. To be able to redirect carceral punishment to everyone who you can pretend deserves it. Aren't you fucking clever? You get to build your life off of this disposability and corrosion, the expulsion, the cold wound. And you'll never get what's been stolen from you."

3:00 PM

"I get it now. You can pretend I'm someone else when you inevitably beat me unconscious. I promise I won't take it personally."

"Is that what you want? You want to attacked? Too scared to punish yourself so you need me to do it for you?"

"Come on. Won't it be good for the both of us?" (edited)

"Are you mocking me?"

"No. I'm just being honest."

She raises her hand into a trembling fist. "Do you really you can provoke me? Are you going to try to use that to score a softer sentence? I see right through you."

"Why would I use this to get a softer sentence? This is all about punishment, remember?"

"Do it, then. Hit me first. Provoke me."

Harriet frowns. "That's not - the goal here."

"Then what is, huh? Are you sad daddy didn’t hit you enough?"

Harriet punches her in the face. (edited)

((Roll))

((15))

Harriet punches her in the face hard enough to bruise, and she falls out of her chair. "You bitch…" She lunges at Harriet.

Harriet scrambles backwards.

She punches Harriet repeatedly.

Harriet makes no effort to move, letting herself go limp.

((This is how she looks for note))

3:34 PM

"Yeah, you deserve this. You piece of shit. You’ve been begging for this for years, I bet! Always wanting someone to put you in your place! Is that why you turned to crime? Were you so desperate for someone to give you what you deserve? Don’t worry, I’ll give you all the pain you want!" She stares at Harriet with pure hatred as she keeps punching her.

Harriet gasps and begins to writhe on the ground, her body instinctively reacting to the pain. She manages to smile through it - almost sleazily.

"A criminal like you deserves this, Fungu-" The wall explodes, blowing them both away and knocking them out. ((End chapter))

Grobber wakes up the next morning.

Grobber pries his eyes open and walks out of the room.

Fritz is cooking an omelette in the kitchen.

"Hey Fritz. Nice eggs. I like the egg in them."

"But not the s?"

"Uh. I like the eggs-ses in them. I... eggss?? Egggs... It's been a while."

"Are you alright?"

"...I don't... know. I'm standing up, I guess."

2:18 PM

"I slept in a bed."

"Is that uncommon?"

"As of late, yeah. A real bed. In a house."

"Do you not have your own?"

"It just doesn't feel real anymore."

"Feel real? Reality is not a mere feeling."

"It felt like an abstraction. Something in the shape and form of a bed, but it felt like it was lying to me." (edited)

"I don’t follow."

"I don't know. There's something to me of what a bed 'means' that exists like- that's not just like how it's shaped, right? My bed didn't have that."

"A bed is a rather simple piece of furniture."

"I guess. Everything can be decomposed like that, to some extent."

((Haha like a fungus))

"Indeed. Life is a rather simple patchwork of ideas."

Grobber looks at the omelette like "Where'd you learn to make something like that?"

He plates it. "It’s a rather elementary mix. Eggs and heat. Would you like this one?"

"Yeah. sure. It looks... good. Better than the eggs I make."

He slides the plate over to a seat.

Grobber sits down at the table, picks the omelette up, and bites into it.

It’s aggressively bland.

"Wow... this must be what food tastes like for good people."

"Hm? What does that mean?" Fritz begins cooking another omelette.

"You know, I ate just... garbage, right? This is food for a better person. Someone with real... something, I guess."

"You ate garbage? With your amount of money, you could simply have hired a professional chef."

"Man, I didn't want other people in that house. That would've been weird. I was happy eating garbage. I still probably would be."

"All that money... And for what?"

Grobber shrugs. "I was keeping myself alive."

"...Perhaps all of this is good for you, in a way."

"I don't really see anything outside of the moment anymore. Every hour is too much to take it any more than an hour at a time."

"Is that so?" Fritz plates his own omelette and sits down with it. "I must say that I find the moment to moment experience to be rather meaningless."

"It's all I have anymore. Drugs? Jail? Investigation? Grace? All of it just flashes in front of me. I don't have any control. I can just take it on the chin and move on."

"On that, I can certainly agree." He starts eating.

Grobber eats the rest of his omelette. swallowing it down quickly.

"What do you plan to do today?"

"I don't know. I have a few people involved in all this junk I'm gonna try and contact. I'd like to look into what happened to Grace, the best I can. Maybe I'll talk to a lawyer. I want to see what state my house is in."

"I see." He nods.

"Uhh... what about you? What are you gonna do, Fritz?"

"The same as I always do."

"...Yeah."

4:08 PM

"Well, I think I'm gonna, do my...

4:08 PM

Yeah."

4:08 PM

"Thanks for Breakfast, Fritz. I'll see you around."

"I shall see you as well, I imagine."

Grobber nods to him. "Thanks." He goes to leave and stops. "Yeah. Thanks a lot." He leaves Fritz' house.

Fritz nods. Grobber's house is surrounded by police tape, but the cops have mostly left. There's a fancy looking car parked in front.

Grobber walks to the car and looks at it.

Fredrick Wight is inside, along with this girl. The 2 step out,

"Hey beast! Welcome to mi casa!"

Fredrick shuts the door. "You're more... Happy... Than I expected."

"I'm sorry, did you want me to cry? Were you looking forward to seeing me destroyed, reduced to groveling at even your feet for mercy? If you wanted me to treat you as my therapist, I hate to disappoint you, but our relationship just isn't there yet, Mr. Wight."

He sighs. "No, I… We wanted to know about her. My daughter." "The other one." Sophie.

"Hmph. I..." He looks at Sophie. "...Mmph. Are. Hey."

Sophie glares at him but doesn’t say anything. "What was she like?" Fredrick.

"i'm. er. sorry, yeah." He bites his lip, and turns to the house, walking closer to it. "She was like me. She knew more people, had more people she could count as her friends. but I don't think they really mattered that much in the end. She, em-" He looks around to make sure nobody can hear. "After- after I got. After I got booked, right. She wanted to take over The Fungus. I think she would've. I don't know if that's why" He looks over to his house. "I don't know anything. I just got bailed out yesterday."

"But… She was with you all those years, wasn’t she?" Fredrick.

"Yeah. She... she didn't really have a lot of other places to go. It was- like- it was. Hmph." He looks at the house. "We stayed there together, just weathering out the days with each other's company. We were the only people who could stand each other, and even then just barely."

"Was she… That miserable?" Fredrick.

Grobber nods. "She had a girl she liked, but... the girl ended up dying. Those last few days, where we were trying to find out anything that had happened, it-"

4:43 PM

"It was just. It was-"

4:43 PM

"Well, you know how it ended."

"…That’s what she gets for running away." Sophie.

Grobber pivots his entire body to directly face Sophie and stares her dead in the eyes. "Do you two have any other questions?"

"…Was she ever happy?" Fredrick.

"She liked chasing you. It wasn't just a game for her. It was her only fixation."

"…Huh." He puts his hands in his pockets. "And here I thought I was the source of her misery."

"Nah. The shit that happened to her was something else. I don't know what happened between you all, but she went out and found misery by herself. It was easier than anything else."

"I think… She must’ve wanted it, then. She was free, after all." Fredrick.

"None of us get what we want, man. There are a thousand things I want right now, and I don't have any of them. Instead I'm sitting out here like an asshole talking to you two."

"Like what?" Fredrick. (edited)

"I want to figure out what the hell is happening to Avengard. And I want to show everyone how it feels to be like me."

"Heh… And how exactly do you plan to accomplish that? Gonna throw drugs around til everybody's an addict?" Fredrick.

"Nah, the rest of the world's got me covered on that front. Everybody's primed and ready. They just need to be shown how little they have to lose."

"…Well, it’s a free country." He shrugs. "You’re an idiot." Sophie.

"Did your friends abandon you after they realized that looking for you would take more time than their stimulus-addled brains could muster, or were they so apathetic to your presence that they never looked in the first place?"

"I wasn’t abandoned by any 'friends'… But even if I did, at least I’d have something to lose!" Sophie. "Sophie, stop…" Fredrick. "If my sister was anything like you, then I’m glad I never knew her! I’m glad I spent so long without ever finding out I was related to such a miserable person!" Sophie starts to cry. "I- I don’t have the best life, but I hold onto what I have instead of standing there and moping! I do something with my life! You only have nothing to lose because you’re the worst! Because you let everything slip by you while you sit there and whine!" "Sophie! Enough!" Fredrick.

Grobber looks through his house. "Johnner visited me when I was in jail. The guy that, you know. Yeah. He told me I should start thinking about a big idea, something to put me back on everyone's minds. He wanted me to get even bigger. You sound a lot like him right now."

Sophie gets into the car. Fredrick watches her go before he speaks again. "…You wanna send the world a message, right?"

"Yeah."

"Can you make it safe for TV?"

"Hem. Yeah, I could. I could do something like that."

"Swing by the station later today, maybe. And hope I haven’t changed my mind." He gets in the car.

"It'll be great. Thanks."

He drives away.

Grobber looks to his house and attempts to cross the police line.

Police stop him. "Woah! You can’t go there!"

"Please! This is my house! There's things I need in here!"

"It’s a crime scene now."

"....FACK!"

6:31 PM

Grobber reaches around in his pockets. Did he get his phone when he got bailed out?

He can have his phone again.

Grobber checks to make sure if he still had the recording he took during his interrogation.

((Refresh my memory))

The Fungus

Grobber rubs his eyes. He goes to his computer and tries to set up a call between his phone and his computer that will record audio to his desktop computer from his phone. He'll also set his phone to record audio as a backup. (edited)

(This was the day of fredrick interview + interrogation)

It’s been deleted from his phone.

"F-F-Fw'fweee..." He's barely able to contain his rage. He attempts to call Dana.

She doesn’t pick up.

He attempts to call Ariel.

She picks up. "Hello!"

"ARIEL! Hey! It's uh- it's Grobber. I got out of jail."

"Oh. That’s cool."

"Ehm. Is Dana around? There's some stuff that happened with Grace... I want to talk to someone who could be able to find out what Grace was doing while I was in... yeah." (edited)

"She went to her room with my boyfriend, but she’s probably asleep by now." Ariel.

"Ehm, she- great. Alright. Did either of you find out anything about the shit we were looking into?"

"I don’t know."

6:56 PM

"We did go after a mob boss last night… It was really dramatic."

"Oh shit, for real? You guys make it out alright?"

"Mostly."

"A real mob boss, huh. How'd you find yourself at odds with a guy like that?"

"Oh, I don’t know if I should say…" There’s a weird noise. "Sorry, my boyfriend’s here. I’ll tell Dana to call you back, okay?"

"Sounds good. All of us on the same team should get together sometime soon. See you around, Ariel."

"See you!" She hangs up.

Grobber calls Carolyn Blythe. (edited)

((Grobbee))

She picks up.

((Hi))

"Hey Carolyn. You free?"

"Not... exactly..."

7:09 PM

"I can... try to make time... What am I needed for...?"

"Sounds great. I'll make this quick. When's the last time you've seen Grace?"

"...She's dead, Mr. Brentwood. Her father... called me yesterday to let me know. I saw her... two days ago. She visited my office, with Dana..."

"Her pops called you, huh. I didnt realize you and him were acquainted. What did the three of you talk about? Wanna cross reference your side of the story with Dana's."

"To be honest, Mr. Brentwood, I have lost a lot of blood. So... give me a moment..." Carolyn pauses "Yes, Grace... accused me of murdering Gus Amon... I conceded, to make her feel better... and she left... they were both wearing masks at first, and..." She lets out a small laugh "Yes, I discussed some stories with Dana after Grace left... Inception... one she was writing, too... then we parted ways."

"...Okay. sorry for keeping you. Interesting shit. Theres actually another thing I wanted to talk about. I just finished with my few day stint in the pen. You'll never guess who I found kicking around up there. Can you guess?"

"...Surprise me."

"It was your pops! They've got him rotting in solitary confinement, and apparently he never talks to anybody. But for some reason, I was able to get the old soul to open up to me. We had a very informative conversation."

Carolyn's tone brightens "How wonderful! I've... well, I've tried to do much of the same with visits, but... thank you, Mr. Brentwood. He deserves a friend, after all this time. I was afraid he'd die how I last saw him."

"Yeah, well. Those folks in jail weren't so bad. I would've stayed there for longer, but there's some stuff I gotta sort out on this side of the fence."

"It is good to be caring for those... less fortunate. Society is so quick to abandon outliers... it's truly sad. I hope it was fulfilling for you, as well, of course."

"Seeing all of them, I felt like I had a lot to live up to. They're my people. Wish I had more time to spend, but that's okay. I still got the rest of my life. Anything else you wanna talk about, Carolyn?"

"...No, I'm rather... exhausted at the moment. My apologies..."

"Sounds good. Take care, and watch yourself." Grobber hangs up.

Grobber is still standing there.

"...Hm." He googles 'Edlightenment'

There are many results about the Edlightenment mass murder. (edited)

the WHAT

7:47 PM

Grobber looks into this a bit more.

9 years ago, Edward Blythe poisoned his entire cult to death with the exception of himself and his 18yo daughter.

Why?

He never said his motive, but the prosecution argued he was running a suicide cult.

"Hm." Grobber also googles 'Ideology Overdrive TAP Kyoko Kirigiri'

Kyoko Kirigiri is a character from Danganronpa. TAP is a verb. Ideology Overdrive has no results.

Okay. One last search. 'Bob Smith'.

((Roll))

16.

He has a youtube channel called The Elusive Sentasaurus.

Grobber will look through it for any interesting recent events.

His most recent video is an announcement that he's moving to a channel called Saur Mann.

Grobber will check that channel too.

The only video is a heavily clickbaited title about a man putting a bomb in Kerloe Fishery.

"Meh." Grobber loses interest and calls Naomi Kidink.

((End session))

((Saturday))

I will be a tad late.

"Welcome to Kidink law offices." It’s not Naomi herself.

"Hey, uh- Yeah. It's Grobber. Um. Brentwood. I had a meeting with Naomi a couple days ago. In Shelk Prison, I mean. I wanted to follow up on that- ehm. If at all possible." (edited)

"I’ll transfer you over to her." It’s silent for a bit.

"Cool. yeah, cool. It's all cool."

"Hello? This is Naomi Kidink speaking?" It is indeed her voice.

"Hey, uhm. Kidink. It's Grobber, uh. I got bailed out, and I'd- I'd like to stay out. For a bit."

"…Oh." She sounds confused.

"...There's like. a- There was another murder though. At my house. While I was in jail. So it's a bit awkward. Heh. Out of one crime, into another, right?"

"Weren’t you broke?"

"Eh. Yeah, ehm. Jeff Johnner and Gus Amon collaborated to siphon away my inheritance to some shadow fund, for like. Shuichi Maoziwam? But I still had a house, at least. For a while. It's- ahem... a murder scene now, heh."

3:12 PM

"I have a recording of my interrogation in my house I would send to you, but I can't exactly, ahem. Get in there now."

"How did you pay bail? You didn’t break out, did you? That would make my job significantly harder."

"No. My friend, uh, Fritz Bachmann bailed me out. He just- he's on my team."

She’s silent for a moment. "…I see. And you weren’t willing to use that money to pay me earlier?"

"I don't have any money- erm. Like, everything in my money account was drained. I didn't even ask Fritz to bail me out, man, like. I didn't. I didn't want that."

"Payment is the default communication of a modern society." She sighs. "...You mentioned Jeff Johnner. Have you heard the news?"

"Money is only really useful for telling people to go away. What's up with Johnner?"

"He died. Just a few hours ago, it seems."

"How? Wh- what happened to him?"

"Some kind of gang violence. How should I know?"

"Huh. W-weird. I had just seen him..."

"...But perhaps you should take this as a lesson." She speaks coldly. "If the fungus is revived, who knows how many may strike similarly. Enjoy your freedom within the bounds of the law, Mr. Brentwood. A trial still waits in your future."

"I think I get what you're saying, but if I get someone to take me out before my trial, I lose my platform."

"I'm telling you not to do anything rash. Is that so difficult to understand?"

"Ohhhhh,,," He says quietly. "By the way, Bob is suicidal."

"That's fine. I don't have any more use for him. Thank you for watching over him while you did, at the very least."

"Oh. Okay. Cool. See you around, Naomi."

"One last thing, Mr. Brentwood."

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you quite understand your situation."

"What do you mean? I get it. I get everything."

"Why exactly do you think people followed the fungus?"

"They were. Uhm. Desparate, just like me."

"They were poor. The rejected masses of society, who failed to hold onto it's opportunities. They idolized someone who said he saw the world the same way they did. Who promised to 'right the wrongs' society has cast onto them... Someone like them. But you're not like them. Up until recently, you were a rich kid who had everything handed to him. You're preaching to a crowd meant to be rallied against people like you. And now... Your name was exposed. Everyone knows who you are. So who is it you think they see now when they look at you? A leader? Or a conman, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who simply used them."

"I don't con... I'm not... I'm..."

"You bailed your way out of prison. You worked with the system, and you paid your way out of consequences. ...That may have been a gift, but is that how the world at large will see it? The people know who you really are now, Mr. Brentwood. The emperor has no clothes, so to speak."

"...You don't know who who I am. Nobody does. But I'll show everyone."

"As your lawyer, I really do not recommend you do that."

"Cope and seethe, babe. I'll try and find some way to make it up to you. Smell ya later!"

"Don't call me babe." She hangs up.

"Cute. Cute. Money? This is about money? Money? Heh. Money. Sure."

There is no one around to respond.

Grobber walks to Avengard.

This succeeds.

Grobber attempts to find a poorer part of the city.

He's been around there enough to make it there easily. There are a lot of people hanging around outside.

He goes to his own little corner and sits down, looking around at everyone else.

They look at him, but no one says anything yet.

He takes his shirt off.

They stare at him.

He starts drumming on his legs and chest.

They slowly get back to their own business.

He continues to observe the people around himself, trying to learn their mannerisms.

((Roll))

Grobber doesn’t learn much.

One of them approaches him. "Get out of here."

"What's going on? Is t-there a p-problem, friend?"

"You don’t belong here, fungus."

"Why not?"

"Get out of here."

Grobber stands. "No! I've got a place here! I can belong!"

"You used us!"

"I didnt use anything! I'm just like you. You're just like me fr!!!"

"Liar!"

"I'm the Fungus!!! We're all the Fungus together! The government is pushing us apart!"

"The Fungus isn't real!"

"We ARE the Fungus! We're Fungusing!"

"We're surviving! We're not letting ourselves get used anymore!"

"What do you think I was doing? Do you think I gained anything?"

"Most of my friends went to prison just so you could steal from the cops! They're not still walking around outside!"

"The Fungus stole because that's what was good for the Fungus!!! That was necessary!"

"It was good for you! How was it good for any of the people who helped you?"

"It's good for the Fungus! This goes beyond all of us!"

"You're the fungus! Stop pretending you were helping us!"

"We're all doing this together! I'm nothing! Of no significance!"

"Explain it then! How has anything you've done helped us? How has it helped the people you got arrested?"

"We're gathering people together, we're building an army! We revealed the corruption of the police department. That will be the start of the revolution!"

"Honestly... Even the police department makes more sense than you."

"What!? The police keep you down! They kidnap your friends and you support them over me?"

"If I'm gonna support the tools of bored rich people... I'd at least like it to be the smart ones!"

"The forces you feed are actually hurting you! You've been brainwashed!"

"Stop trying to use us!" The poor man punches Grobber in the face.

"Do you not want to challenge your situation? Are you not angry?"

"I am angry! At you!"

"I didn't do anything! I rebelled against the organization that's now holding your friends hostage!"

"Get out of our city!" "Yeah!" "Leave us alone, you fraud!" More of them gather around Grobber to boo him.

"I didn't do anything! I didn't!"

They keep booing him. "Jeez... Tough crowd, huh?" Grobber hears the familiar voice of Ehn on his shoulder.

"Wha!?! What the fuck are you doing here!?"

"What are you doing here?" Random guy. "What's the problem? Did I do something to get you mad too? Really, it's like an endless game of pettiness with you people." Ehn.

"I'm not petty! I'm just stupid!"

8:25 PM

"What are you doing? Hoe did you get here?"

"We know!" Someone says this to the stupid comment. "You should probably get somewhere else before they get angrier." Ehn.

"OH! I am leaving but for an unrelated reason!" Grobber runs away.

They let him run off and cheer. Ehn continues to ride on his shoulder.

Grobber runs to an isolated spot.

He's alone with Ehn now. "So, fresh out of prison, huh?"

"Heh. Yeah. I'm a gangsta."

Ehn somehow finds a way to make her dog face visibly cringe. "...So what's next on the Fungus agenda? Seems like you're at a pretty interesting spot of your life. Perfect excuse to not have to deal with that guy."

"Who's... that guy? I interact with a lot of guys."

"Oh, you don't know him."

"Yeah. I'm. Im fungusing, yeah. I... don't know. I dont know what I have left."

9:06 PM

"I'll try and make something new."

"You really don't have a plan yet?"

"No. I'm... I don't know. I'm just sizing it all up."

9:09 PM

"I'm collecting information, right?"

"Do I really have to do all the thinking for everyone?"

"I didnt ask for you to come here! I was just trying to be nice!"

"Well, you're not really good at it."

Grobber sighs. "The Fungus has to go on. I don't care how it happrns."

"Then you'd better hurry up. I know slow misery's your whole thing but... Grace died, just after becoming the Fungus. Are you sure you can take things slow now?"

"...I've got an interview today, right? I can make it work. I need to find someone fashionable. Someone with outreach. Someone who can speak my message."

"What? No. You're going. This is your story. You can't just shove this job to a side-character!"

"I gotta be the one to say it. But I need someone else to rep it too, you know? Tag team. One-two combo. Corporations are always getting desparate celebrities to forward their message." (edited)

"You're the Fungus! You have to be the face of it! Who's gonna follow a coward too scared to show his face?"

"...Nobody will care about it, coming from me. What am I? I'm... I mean, look, man."

9:25 PM

"Our society is all based around attractiveness, swagger and shit. Even desperate people won't take their medicine from me."

"Aren't you the guy who breaks these illusions, huh? You want them to believe you're just like them... Not that you're above them! I've been nothing but helpful to people, and they still hate me. You know why? Because as much as humans crave power like addicts, they can't stand the idea that someone is above them. They need to invent gods just so they can resent them. So they can feel victimized... because you humans can never be motivated to do anything but let things stagnate. You're the real bottom of the barrel... Someone who no one could possibly look up to... That's why you're a main character!"

"A main character? This isnt a story, chief. And even if it was, none of this is about me. Johnner told me himself. I'm just some stupid kid who exploited an opportunity to get involved. Not anyone to really care about."

"Sure you are. I chose you, so you're a protagonist. It's not that difficult."

"Don't say that. You didnt mean to choose me. You would've chosen Grace. She was the real Fungus."

"...You really don't get it, do you?"

"No! I don't! I don't get any of this! I'm tangential to a sliver of a tiny story. I'm nothing! Zilch!"

She rolls her eyes. "Do you read, Fungus?"

"A... a little? Some? I can read."

"You know what a 'theme' is, right? It's the moral of the story some pretentious know-it-all wants to push on you."

"Yeah, it's fucko school shit."

"Well, all of these stories need a villain. The guy who stands there and just thinks whatever the story disagrees with, while the story mocks it over and over so you understand that he's the bad guy without really needing to think about it too much. That's basically what Johnner is, on a cosmic level."

"So this story already has a certain point? A moral that's already wrapped up?"

"Eh..." She gestures vaguely. "It's an oversimplification. It's not like a mere human would get it, y'know? I'm just translating it to your language."

Grobber sighs. "My intrusion to this story barely matters. I'm just a guy."

9:47 PM

"Even what you did for me is a mistake. It's not like I've gotten any use out of it."

"Well, obviously... That's because we were just in the setup phase, y'know? Your moment's coming soon. Tomorrow, probably. So you'd better hurry up and get back on your feet for then."

"...I'll figure something out. For the Fungus. For Grace."

"Oh, and... Don't trust Dana. That one's just free advice. You could say her and Ariel are one of those people who are just... Built to be wrong."

"Why should I even trust you?"

"Because without me, there'd never even have been a fungus."

Grobber nods.

"...And also, Dana wanted to steal your girlfriend immediately after she dumped you. Probably a recipe for bitterness for you people, right? I dunno, I'm far too powerful to really get those sorts of feelings."

Grobber's eye twitches. "that's." He shakes his head. "That's fine. I never needed her anyway."

"Everyone loves an underdog story, Fungus." Ehn hops off his shoulder. "...So don't disappoint them with this one."

"I'll just show them what's in front of their faces. That'll be enough."

10:01 PM

"Thanks. Advice."

She leaves, before suddenly hitting an invisible wall. "Ow!"

"Are you okay? Are you. Do you need help?"

"Ugh. There's not anyone else close enough."

Grobber walks to Ehn and attempts to pet her. "That's okay. You're doing alright. You can't be blamed."

"...Huh?" The hand goes through her body, but it still feel like it works somehow. Like a vague intangible closeness.

"Good kitty?" (edited)

((Saturday))

"I’m not a cat."

"Good doggy..." He smiles.

"I’m not a dog either… I am Ehn!"

"Heh, you're just The Fungus."

"No… I’m not the fungus! You are!"

"Mysterious ways, Ehn! Mysterious ways."

She groans. "Can you just walk into a more crowded area so I can catch a ride?"

"What kind of Ehn are you, only able to jump through people? Can't you just walk?"

"Well… Yes. But I can’t exist without people."

"Why not? People are just animals... just crops for the Earth."

"It’s just… How it works, okay?"

Grobber chuckles. "You said all stories need a theme, right? If that's the case, what's the theme of your story? How does only being able to exist with just people fit into yours?"

"You wouldn’t understand."

"Gotcha, I get it." Grobber walks away from this secluded alley. "You can never understand someone else's story, yadda yadda..."

"And what’s a story without a villain?" Ehn disappears into a crowd.

Grobber checks the time.

It's around 2PM.

"Hm." He walks back to his house.

He arrives back successfully.

Are cops still around his house?

They are.

"Grraaagh! These pigs! This is my house!"

There's only 2 of them at this point.

"Hey, what's up? Can I go in?"

"No. This is a crime scene."

Grobber sighs and sits on his phone, browsing social media.

This succeeds uneventfully.

What are people talking about? What is getting buzz?

Someone named Ashley Laurier, but it's dying down at this point.

"Hm." What happened with her?

She got cancelled. ((Check the burner account thread for more details))

"Heh. Epic."

3:27 PM

He looks up discussion about Shuichi Maoziwam.

People are just generally shittalking him.

"Nice! We're all... we're all ready."

3:32 PM

What is he wearing?

((What is who wearing))

Grobber

((That's your choice))

He'll wear his normal degen clothes I guess.

3:42 PM

"...Nothing better to do. Shit." He navigates back to Fredrick Wight's office.

He arrives.

He walks in the door with a smug smile.

The receptionist welcomes him. "Who is this?"

"The Fungus."

"Isn't he in prison?"

"No, it's jail. I havent gone to trial yet. Would you like to be a witness?"

"What was your real name again?" They search through their things.

"Grobber Brentwood."

"Ah, right here. So you are supposed to be here... Huh. The stage is on the second floor, 3rd door to your right."

He goes to the stage, coughs, smiles, and enters.

Fredrick is there. "...Huh. You actually showed up."

"Hey." Grobber smiles. "Hey what's up."

"The usual." He sighs. "I guess I've gotta stick by my promise, huh?"

"It'll be great, man. You won't regret it. This will be awesome."

"Alright..." He points to an armchair. "That's where you sit."

Grobber sits down in the chair, and crosses his legs. (edited)

"You sure you don't want to dress up? People usually dress a lot fancier for this sort of thing."

He nods. "Yeah man, I got it. I can roll like this."

"Your choice." He sits down on his chair.

"Heh, cool. Chilled out. It's nice."

"We're on in 5." The director.

Grobber puts his hands behind his head. (edited)

The countdown finishes. "Welcome back to Free News Network, news you can trust. On tonight's show, we have a special guest... The man accused of being the criminal who's haunted this city, The Funguuuuuus." Fredrick. The camera moves to include both of them in the frame.

"Hey everyone. It's the Fungus here. Hey Fredrick, glad to be here. As you said, I'm the Fungus. I'm just out of jail right now, and it was a great time, honestly. Did you know that men and women can just pass into each other's wings? It's crazy. They got all sorts of shit in there. Good drugs too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean like. You hear about jail as this messed up place but, it's not really that. B tier. Above the public school system for sure but probably below being in a hospital." (edited)

"From what I hear, jail's a hellhole. You’re telling me, what? You’d take a vacation there?" He laughs. It sounds fake.

"Listen. I recommend it to all people at least once. You might like it. You might hate it. But think about it, you know? A lot of people stuck in their grind right now. Need some good get-away time, right? Spirituality for the soul. The crime, the jail stint, you know, I'm... I'm learning a lot. Think about it like a work retreat for the soul."

"So is that the goal of the fungus? Just to get yourself in there?"

"No, haha. The Fungus is a lifestyle, right? Let me ask you this, Fredrick. How many people you think watching this are upset with their life right now? Got too many problems, feeling sad, just not where they wanna be?"

"Isn’t that life? I’d say most of them."

"Yeah, and that's a big problem, right? Think about it. America. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Declaration of Independence. We gotta be working to our happiness. We gotta reach out and get it. But the problem is that there's a bunch of people that built the world, and they made it how it is, and if you wanna change it, well you're doing something wrong."

"Constitution's a sacred document."

"Exactly. That's all the Fungus is. It's the acknowledgement that before things get better, they're gonna have to get a lot worse! I think this is pretty intuitive, you know? People are attracted to this kinda stuff. You pick up a rock in a forest, it's got worms and dirt and all sorts of other stuff on the bottom. It's gross but it's also kinda amazing, like your animal brain knows you gotta look at it. It's because if you pretend it doesn't exist, it'll eat you up."

"And what… You take pride in making it worse?"

"You ever heard of Stonewall, Fredrick?"

"Yeah, it’s what we had before brick."

"Nah, Stonewall was this huge massacre where these gay people and cops fought. Bunch of gay people died. But after that happened, nationally, people recognized the cause. 16th street bombings. A black Baptist Church got blown up, and a bunch of kids died. Because of that attack, we have the Civil Rights act. Things always get worse before they get better. Hard times create strong men, right?"

"I was making a joke. Keeping things light."

"Yeah, that's fair enough. Let's talk about something cool. You know what, I'm out in the street, and you know what I've seen?"

"What have you seen, Fungus?"

"You know, the people out there, the people with the struggle, they absolutely LOVE the Fungus. It's been So Great. for them. I got myself into some problems with piggies and I've lost all my assets and my house but they're really great to me. It's good to see like, a lot of people unified, right?"

"You’ve always been a man of the people, right?"

"Yeah, for sure. I'm not- this isn't some corporate movement. It's not like, some safe media trend. We're unique, we're lovely, we're avant-garde. We see each other and the world for what we all really are."

"And what is that?"

"It's a husk of something to an end as we know it, we all are. Something's happening, and you're either in it, or you're out of it."

"And you’d say that you’re in it, I imagine?"

"Yeah, for sure. I think that while I felt about how things were going terribly, how unjust everything is, I wasn't alone. It's something everyone knows. First it was me, then it was the disenfranchised, I mean, it could be everyone next."

"So what’s your plan? What do you want to say to the people?"

"Well, I just wanted to say, get out there, do it. Look into Shuichi Maoziwam. Look into Belto Shelk. Do some searches about how to address the problems in our society. And then, really consider if you're on the Fungus' side or not."

"Not that... Belto Shelk has... Ever done anything wrong."

Grobber gives a wry look directly into the camera. "Of course, Mr. Wight. Of course."

"Could you tell us a bit about yourself? What made you become the fungus?"

"Yeah. I'm an orphan. I'm just a normal guy. My parents had a little bit of money, but it all got stolen away. My girlfriend was murdered in my home. I've seen it all happen."

Grobber's phone rings.

7:08 PM

"Did you forget to turn that off?" Fredrick jokes.

Grobber checks his phone. Who is it? (edited)

Dana.

"This is Dana. Shes one of my allies, and just took out a mob boss. Let's put her on speaker." Grobber takes his phone out and puts Dana on speaker.

Dana wakes up later that day.

I yawn. Hope I didn’t sleep too long… I vaguely scroll through my phone a bit before getting up. …Breakfast. I look through the groceries I have been firmly established to have and quickly scrounge together something to eat.

It was a normal breakfast. Good enough. I drink water with it. Just… water. I turn on the tv, I guess. Just background noise. Or something.

3:25 PM

Hm. Not really an urgent need to do anything, exactly. Scott seemed pretty lackadaisical about the time to get this done. Is that what that word means? I look up “lackadaisical”. Yeah, it means that.

3:29 PM

Oh, I probably smell like shit after all that. I go take a shower. It’s a quick affair. I don’t like, sit there moping as the water runs down my body or anything. Just use a normal amount of soap and shampoo to hopefully cleanse myself in the manner those are able to. One and done. Quick affair. I dry off a little and then stare at myself in the mirror.

3:32 PM

Okay, well, I stare at the mirror. Which is all fogged up. Because I just took a shower. I wonder if this wouldn’t have happened if I’d left the door open. Give the steam more area, to uh, spread out? Not really an option, though. Even leaving the door open a little by accident in the past has been able to set off the stupid smoke alarm.

3:35 PM

I wonder if it would clear off if I waited long enough. Didn’t wipe it or anything. It must, right? A watched pot boils eventually. I engage in a brief staring contest with the presently useless mirror before moving on because that’s stupid.

3:39 PM

A lot of the time I bring a change of clothes into the bathroom when I know I’m gonna shower. It’s not like it matters; no one else lives here and the path from the bathroom to where I keep clothes doesn’t pass by any window or outside line of sight. I guess it’s just paranoia? Or, no, a habit picked up from when I didn’t live by myself. …I didn’t do that this time, though. I didn’t know… I wander back to my bed and stare at my dresser.

3:44 PM

Though, honestly, maybe that’s useless. I have a closet, too. I just don’t use it much. It’s so much more of a hassle, y’know? Having to wrangle with putting things on hangers. Even just folding up clothes to put away in drawers is easier, and that’s pretending I always have the decency to not just chaotically cram them in there. That doesn’t mean the closet’s empty, though. Newly equipped with undergarments, I head over and check it.

3:46 PM

It’s not that big. I didn’t have the money to afford some luxurious walk-in, and if I did, that’s certainly not what I would’ve fucking spent it on. It’s full of clothes. But if I almost never check it, what’s the use of any of this? It’s a good question.

3:51 PM

A high school graduation gown, kept as a memento. An absurdly thick sweater that would take up too much space in a dresser. An outfit I wore to a convention once. An outfit for an event I didn’t end up going to. Swimwear. Crumpled up on the floor. Now what the fuck is that for? I don’t have a pool. Boots and flip flops and sandals.

…And a few articles of clothing for women. Not many. Even back when I was a kid, not buying my own clothes, I think my parents realized I more frequently opted for pants. It’s just more practical, you know? Pockets. So they stopped bothering. I’m not sure if these would fit. They’re like, years old. Whenever I last put them on. Might have just been whenever they were first bought, when I tried them on to make sure they fit. I stare at the clothing around me, and sigh. Am I really committing to the bit this hard? Who cares? Odds are Ariel forgot about it. Maybe.

4:02 PM

It just… it feels like I’ve lost somehow, if I back down here. Like I couldn’t take it. I’m fine going on these daring escapades, schemes where my actual body doesn’t have to be at risk, but I can’t even handle clothes. Is that ironic? Because I guess that’s a matter of pride. Of seeming courageous and powerful. A masculine impulse.

I look over my options. I guess they would fit. Like, I was certainly done growing by 18, right? Nothing would change now, unless I’ve put on a lot of weight. I don’t really check… that. There’s a full-ass dress in here. Like, gown and shit. I vaguely remember my dad getting it. He never really had any problems with me dressing the way I did. I wasn’t raised by like, internet trads or whatever. But he chuckled and said even if I stay the same on ordinary days, I’ll want something special in my arsenal for when I start dating. Y’know, “to impress him”. I smirk. Not this one. Way too extravagant. I don’t want to seem like I’ve lost my fucking mind. There’s some other things under the category of ‘would raise an eyebrow if a dude wore them’. I pick out what I judge to be the most Womanly while not being completely infeasible for someone to wear casually. A dark colored pant-skirt, hard to confidently identify as black in this lighting. It’s still a little too… weird. But I guess I don’t have a sense for this. I mean, I should, right? I’ve seen women. I like them. I don’t know. I guess there’s a difference between that and what you are. I think of something, and decide that’s all I need from here.

4:15 PM

I come out of the closet.

4:18 PM

I turn off the television, noticing in the background it’s still on. The distraction has gotten annoying. Anyway…

I remember hearing about how you shouldn’t mix the colors and the whites. In laundry, epic racism jokes aside. But it’s never been a notable thing for me. I just shove whatever I’ve worn the past however long it’s been into the same washer dryer setup. I looked it up once, and apparently that being an issue relates to cheap dyes that aren’t really used much anymore, so the adage becomes less and less relevant over the years. But it was relevant once. A red shirt. …Might’ve been a hand-me-down from mom. I don’t have it anymore. It came off a little onto a white shirt, leaving it an off-pink sort of color. This is the only presence of this particular color in my wardrobe. I keep it tucked away as just clothes to knock around in, basically pajamas. But this is the one context in which it could be useful.

4:29 PM

I hold out the two articles of clothing together. The colors don’t really go together that well. I mean, I don’t think it clashes, really. It’s just not something I think someone looking for a matching outfit would be likely to choose. It’s what we’ve got to work with, though.

4:30 PM

I put them both on. It seems like it all fits, at least. That’s good.

4:33 PM

I head back into the bathroom. It looks like the mirror has mostly defogged on its own, but I wipe it down a bit anyway. It’s a mirror above the sink setup. Whatever that’s called. I don’t own a full-body mirror. Why would I? But I can just use my own damn eyes to know what my body looks like below the torso, and form a full mental image with that. I look over myself slowly, and meet Dana’s eyes.

4:33 PM

I smile at her.

4:34 PM

It gives way to laughter. God. What did I expect?

4:35 PM

I don’t look like an actual… whatever this was suppose to do. I look like I’m wearing a costume. It’s not a very good costume, either.

4:40 PM

I clean up my hair a little. It was mostly fine already, though. I don’t know. Would like, makeup help? I don’t fucking have any. I’d have to go out and buy that, and I don’t even really know what I would buy. I never learned how to… ugh. The novelty of the gag wears off, and I scowl at it.

4:44 PM

Would Ariel also find it funny for a bit? I mean, this is for her, right? Who else would it be for, me? Certainly not. Ariel doesn’t really find anything funny. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her laugh. Which is weird. Being witty was like, my one thing. It was what people liked about me, I think. Why I was nice to have around.

4:45 PM

Maybe I liked that she didn’t. Tired of being a “nice” guy.

4:48 PM

I’m not someone shallow and obsessed with appearance! So I just move on. I’m not going to do something psychotic like punch the mirror or whatever. I just leave the room. What you don’t know can’t hurt you. I stare at my jacket, draped over a chair.

4:51 PM

It’s a bit of a comfort. And a fallback option if I give in and decide the pink is too much. I do that thing where I tie it around my waist using the sleeves. That looks “feminine” enough, right? Sporty. Or whatever. I sigh.

4:53 PM

I… can’t go out like this. I’d be so weird and conscious of it the whole time. Yes, not quite like this. I open the fridge.

4:57 PM

Two. One never seems to have an effect. And I’m not trying to be an alcoholic. I just need to loosen things up a little. A mental lubricant. I have two drinks over the course of doing a few other things, like brushing my hair out of my face or finding where the fuck I put my shoes. I brush my teeth thoroughly, to make sure my breath smells not the least like alcohol. Just in case. I wash my face one final time and stare at my soggy-ass self. And then I’m done. There’s nothing left I can think of.

4:57 PM

My girlfriend lives right next to me. I exit my home.

4:57 PM

((that’s all I wanted yeah))

((We can keep going if you want. Other sessions progressed enough))

(( cereal2 ))

5:01 PM

(( sure yeah ))

Ariel's door is slightly open.

I… knock on the door. Don’t peek inside or anything.

There's a noise inside. "...Who's there?" Kingsley. (edited)

I lose my balance, and lean on the handle… knob, thing, of the door for stability. “M…me.” I… stop myself from thinking further about anything else right this moment. I’m not going to freak out. I’m not going to freak out.

"Oh, umm… Come in." He sounds guilty.

I breathe heavily. I don’t want to come in. What if I just took a little longer? If I went out to buy eyeliner or whatever stupid bullshit I thought of. Or maybe if I didn’t take as long. If I didn’t bother with this stupid fucking idea, or woke up earlier, and arrived before… I… I shove open the door and walk in.

Kingsley and Ariel walk out of Ariel bedroom. What they were doing seems obvious from their clothes, which seem put on in a hurry. "Hi Dana!" Ariel.

No, see, you knew. You knew that. That was the whole point. All along. Obviously. It was an open secret. Right? Yeah. Sure. This is your fault, when you think about it. You had your chance. The interruption wasn’t your fault. But entertaining it was. Especially when it didn’t even fucking matter in the end. So what now? What now, idiot? This is all you get! It’s not all you’re going to look for, but it’s all you’re going to find! Ever! Make your move, you fucking moron! SPEAK! “Good morning.” I say with a normal expression.

"Isn’t it the afternoon?" Ariel.

“It doesn’t exactly feel like it. I just got out of bed.” I don’t cry while saying this, or anything in this conversation. Because I’m beyond this. I’m ahead of the game. There isn’t time to mourn the present when I have so much to plan for.

Ariel hugs Dana. "Did you want to join in?" Kingsley stares uncomfortably.

Her touch is poison. But the intoxicating kind. I guess I am an alcoholic. “No, I’m… I didn’t come here for that, no. To get in the way. I just…” Just what? Why did you come here? What exactly was the plan, here? The ideal scenario. That she just looks at your clothes, and acknowledges you’ve kept up your end of the jokingly proposed bargain? God, that was entirely it, wasn’t it? I’m so fucking self-absorbed. Even in the fantasy scenario where she actually thinks I look alright, that’s the end of the fucking interaction. Hahahahaha… so what now, huh? I’ve staked my claim in pretending everything is fine already, can’t back down there. But I can’t take talking under those pretenses seriously when Kingsley’s here, haha! I mean, he knows. He knows this is awful. I know this is repugnant. There’s a shared understanding between the two of us. So what, do we keep up a charade so at least one person here can be happy? Hahaaaa… I wonder if this is the sort of dynamic Lelouch’s bitches have with each other. Not that there’s a comparison. I don’t think Ariel’s that bad here. She might not have done anything wrong at all. I mean, she was willing to fuck me, and she basically said outright beforehand she was going to do this. I don’t know. Kingsley, though… god, it’s insane I can feel this betrayed by someone I don’t give a shit about at all. Your insane idolatry of me, was it some false pretense? To manipulate? I’d be mad if it was, because it doesn’t fucking work. I gave you the benefit of the doubt yesterday. Internally. Maybe you didn’t know. Didn’t pick up on it. You weren’t there for the conversation contextualizing my behavior. And you’re a coward. Passive. When a lady lets you into her home, and tells you to leave while not seeing you out and instead heading into her bedroom, how are you supposed to get that? Or have the spine to act even if you did understand. But noooo, you’re very active indeed, aren’t you?! What a MAN! What a rat.

"I… Umm… She was- She forced herself onto me." Kingsley shamefully says. It doesn’t sound 100% honest, but he doesn’t seem to be outright lying either. "What? No I didn’t. I was just a little more active than usual. It’s not that bad." Ariel.

Uh… “Clearly wasn’t much convincing needed.”

"Well, that’s… I was-" Kingsley looks miserable. "Why are you 2 acting like this?" Ariel looks between them.

“Like what?” I smile, slightly brightened through schaudenfreude. He obviously regrets it a little, but that doesn’t make it assault. It just makes you a sucker.

Ariel thinks for a moment. "Oh… Do you 2 want to date each other too?"

Yes. Ohhh yes. I’ve solved it. I figured it out. A self-imposed labyrinth of my own suffering, and I’ve clawed out of it. I know what I have to do, what’s going on. All this means is one more body she’s had sex with, and I’ve already accepted that number is too absurdly high to matter. “No, I… well, not necessarily. You’d have to ask him. Besides the point. I just, I needed a moment. But I get it now. I do, Ariel.” I smile and nod. “Y’know, it’s… bisexual, can’t spell that without two. Both. He’s your man. That’s fine. That’s okay. Because I’m your woman.” I clasp my hands in front of me and smile. There’s a genuine element of feeling satisfied to it. But not genuine in that way. In actually meaning whatever that nonsense was. Definitely. It’s unsustainable. As pitiful an excuse for a man as he might be, I’ve definitely seen less success as a woman. But this only needs to last a bit, as a way of stalling.

"No, really… You can have her…" Kingsley mutters. "Oh, by the way, Dana. Grobber called." Ariel.

Huh. “Huh. Called you?”

"Yeah, he wanted to talk to you. He just got out of prison, apparently."

“He has my number. Why would he call you? …I’m more confused that he’s out, though. That’s… surprising.”

"Something about Grace." Ariel. "Oh, I should… I should tell you." Kingsley.

“Did she manage to spring him out? Neat, if true.” Not really up to thinking about Grace at the moment. I turn to Kingsley. “?”

"...She's dead." Kingsley. (edited)

. “Huh?” I further question the meaning of a sentence with the most fucking obvious meaning imaginable. Are you stupid?

"Her body was discovered in Grobber Brentwood's home last night by Hav Kerloe and Matrick Patthew." Kingsley. "From what I hear."

“…Huh?” I don’t know what else to say. What? Who are those people? How am I supposed to feel about this? What? I don’t understand. There are too many things happening at once. I was ready… I was ready to keep going here… make progress on this front… which itself was a distraction from what I thought today would be… from what I was doing myself and what someone else was telling me to… do. I can’t react yet. Not on hearsay. I dial up Grobber immediately. “When? Was it around the time we were chasing Johnner? And was Grobber around his home?” ((if trying this call means the session has to end that’s understandable))

"It was only a few hours after she left you 2. According to Howard, it was probably Johnner." Kingsley. Ariel is shocked.

“No… no, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It can’t be. Not… the whole point was that he wasn’t likely to do it immediately. That’s not what happened. I didn’t…”

Grobber picks up.

“What happened? Why are you out of jail? Why was she in your house?” I don’t bother with a hello.

"You can't just..." A male voice on Grobber's side sounds exasperated.

“Who is this?!”

"Fredrick Wight. You're live on Free News Network, for some reason, Dana." (edited)

"You're on TV! This is my friend Dana. You got any big findings?"

“What?! I… haha! Ok, sure! Anonymity is overrated! Love the spotlight. Awesome. What’s the story, huh? What are you talking about? If it’s what I’m thinking, I might have some critical information for you!”

"We were talking to the fungus about the fungus. Not sure how this involves you, unless you feel like confessing to crimes."

"We're talking about the disease taking this city, Dana. We're talking about the truth."

“I’d like to confess someone else’s crimes, to be honest! It’s relevant. Grace went by that name too, right? Fungus? She’s a relevant party, haha! Hope it’s not a problem to out her culpability, I can’t imagine it would be now. The truth. A disease. I can get behind that, pal! The truth is, there’s something much more tangible than societal unrest to be worried about!” My voice sounds a little hysterical, like I’m way too overexcited for the rest of me to keep up with.

"Fungus, hang up the phone."

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

"Okay I'm hanging upp last chance Dana!" Grobber moves his finger dramatically to hang up.

“Carolyn Blythe killed her! She killed Michelle, she killed Grace, and I could be next! Haha!”

7:25 PM

“The police won’t arrest her! I don’t know how, but they’ve been bought out. Some mob connection, maybe? I’ve got a lot of enemies I’m making right now!”

"Yay!"

"…Grace- That’s…" Fredrick sounds like he’s dying.

"We're on every story. We're all over it. The Fungus has got everything!"

7:27 PM

"This story has everything!"

“She ‘helped’ your daughter in more ways than one, Fred! Took advantage of everything she could in order to fulfill the requirements for her fetishistic murder compulsion. Hmmmmm, don’t think a therapist is supposed to get quite that close with clients! And I know she’ll find out about this eventually. Even if I can’t directly present proof, this’ll spread like wildfire. Especially when you look at her history of ‘jobs’ — that list’s the roster of a morgue, you know. Hah! Just a little humor. Lighten the mood for primetime. Anyway, when she sees this, I want her to know. I want her to understand that I could kill her in a second if I wanted to. But why would I give you that? I’m gonna take everything from you, Carrie. One by one. The only person I’ll accept dying in that body is a hollow, broken shell of a soul. Suck my dick! Call me later if you want to talk, The Fungus. This is live, right? Just want to make sure I don’t get cockblocked by bullshit here.”

Fredrick squirms.

"Okaydanaloveyabye." Grobber hangs up.

((Channel split))

((Hi))

"Hey girl heeeeeeeeyyyyyy"

“Mm. What’s up? I just… I just woke up, dude.”

"I'm in the bath myself." He starts filing his nails. "You got any big plans today?"

Recalling what’s going on and waking up further, I remember that I’m annoyed. “Not particularly.” I mutter.

"Niiice... hey. Quick question, you got any thoughts on Shuichi Maoziwam?"

“What? No. I mean, yeah, sure. Like, I know who he is. I think he’s kind of a shithead from what I’ve read. Why?”

"You wanna break into his house and fuck him up a little bit?"

“Grobber, why are you asking me about this?” I take an incredibly loud sip of coffee.

"You like. Kill gangsters and shit, right? I'm just like. You know. I'm just a... you know."

“I’ve never killed anyone.” I state honestly(*). “I’m not joining something as obviously risky as that with as vague a goal as ‘Fucking Someone Up’. Do— do you think, like, I’m ride or die for you??? We met once, for some incredibly incidental reason, and I thought you were probably alright. Our solitary connection is that you fucked someone we mutually knew who is now gone. Is there a better reason you wanted to speak to me, or are we done here?”

You hear a low chuckling from the other end, and Grobber waits a few moments to file his last few nails before speaking. "That's great, beast. Glad you got that all off your chest. I'm the perfect guy to talk to like that, so I'm glad you're catching on. Listen. Because you've been so loose with your info, I'll let you see one of the cards I'm holding. This shit all comes to a head today. Regardless of what you choose to do in the next hour, the two of us are gonna run into each other out there, and we're both gonna be swinging. Whether we're swinging at or for each other depends on the choices you make. My intentions? I've made them perfectly clear. I'm gonna be storming hell castle to take down King Kong Hitler himself, and I'm going to win. Haven't figured out what I'm gonna do after that, but I'm sure it'll come naturally. As for before? I thought I might get a few side quests in, or I might run straight for the flag. Either way, I'm assembling a band of merriment, and everyone that joins gets to sip off my best stuff. I'm pulling out the Fine China and the Mario Star for this one, so I figured you wouldn't want to miss it. I'll let you take the first sip if you pull up to Maoziwam's. It'll be obvious when it's about to go down. Dana, degenerate to degenerate, please take some time to calm down before you talk to anybody else. You sound pathetic. Figure out whose team you're on, or you'll be sitting on the bench the whole game. Okay love ya byeeeeeeee" He hangs up.

Carolyn arrives at the hospital. ((End session))

((No session this week))

((Saturday))

After a few hours, Carolyn recovers. She’s alone in her hospital room.

Carolyn stares at the wall. She can see it, her eyes functioning as they should. The light passes through her eyes, and her brain processes the sensation. She clenches her right hand against the bedding. She can feel the fabric between her fingers and palm. She's still connected to the world. Finally, she casts her eyes to the end of her left arm, and her brain sends the signal for her hand to clench, the same way it has for her entire life.

Nothing. It's under a cast right now.

With a smile, she lets out her short thoughts on the matter. "How kind of them to water my plants."

6:58 PM

Carolyn checks her phone.

Nothing new.

She sighs, then puts it away. After a few moments of silence, she decides to not let time waste. She exits her room and begins looking for Ethfan.

She passes by a room which contains ???.

Carolyn pays this no mind.

??? calls out. "Hey, wait."

She stops. "...I suppose I have no reason not to. I assumed they were just an innocent victim, but... it's possible they were part of the mob before forgetting their past. Not that it particularly matters now, regardless of if they're still suffering from amnesia. Oh well, if they're not, I can at least ask about Hav. More information on Ethfan's past may prove useful." She nods to herself and enters the room.

A nurse is also here.

"Yes, were you speaking to me?"

"...Yes?"

7:32 PM

"You know me, don't you?"

"So you remember our encounter, then? That's wonderful, you should be proud of your progress."

"Uh... what's 'proud'?"

"Hm, how to best describe it... Perhaps I would say it is when you are happy with an accomplishment. No, that's not quite it. Many prideful individuals are actually quite depressed. It is more of... believing one's actions are worthy of praise."

"It wasn't my choice to remember you."

"My apologies, that was just my initial assessment. Amnesia can take effort in therapy to solve, but it can also simply naturally fade. It is quite convenient, in that sense."

"Oh, was he an amnesiac?"

"...Well, wouldn't it be more convenient not to have it?"

"Life never misses an opportunity to throw something at you." She gives this reply with a smile, then turns to the nurse "Yes, I met this man a week... No, six days ago, to be exact. I was informed then that he was an amnesiac, which appeared to line up with his behavior."

"Do you know who he is? We weren’t able to identify him."

She shrugs "I haven't the foggiest. I do hope you can forgive my unhelpfulness regarding this matter."

"Do you know what happened to me?"

7:51 PM

"After we met, that is."

"You were drugged by a mobster, placed in a car trunk, and delivered to his boss. Both of these men are now dead, and thus you appear to be safe for the moment."

"What?"

"Why did they interrupt us?"

"Once again, I am afraid I am unaware of the specifics. It would be quite hard to determine the motivations of the culprits at the moment. Perhaps the police officer on the scene could assist more. His name is Howard Scott, if you wish to pursue this further."

I nod. "Right now, I'm stuck here."

"How unfortunate. I hope you make a swift recovery. In the meantime, would you mind if I asked you a question as well?"

"You can do that."

"The man accompanying you when we met, Hav Kerloe. What do you know of him?"

"He owns a fish store. He can't harm his customers. When I was in that mob, I was tasked with bringing him in."

"How interesting. A mafia concerned with the owner of a fish store."

"I don't know why. Ehn said it would be worse if we had succeeded."

8:14 PM

"...Ehn is a talking dog." (edited)

Carolyn takes sudden steps towards ???, a smile spreading across her face "So you... share that delusion as well? Shall I assume you believe yourself to hold a magical ability, too?"

The nurse is really confused.

I sit up properly. "...Delusion?"

8:18 PM

"The ability... it was control over a 'person' visible only to me. But I don't understand it. I don't have it now." (edited)

8:19 PM

I sigh. "That was supposed to be a secret, wasn't it?"

"Did you happen to lose possession of an object recently? One you had with you through the entire time this ability was accessible to you?"

"No. It's more like... the ability has started and stopped working. Sometimes it's worked, and sometimes the 'person' just hasn't been around at all." (edited)

She clicks her tongue "I suppose I should have learned against the reliability of wishful thinking. Are you aware of any of the others who share your delusion? The power need not match, of course." (edited)

"It's not 'my delusion'."

"...Of course. My apologies, that was quite inappropriate language. Now then, are you aware of any others who have received a gift such as yours from Ehn?"

"Maybe."

8:34 PM

"There were three people I knew who could see the dog. Hav Kerloe, Dana Craig, and Ariel. Other people couldn't." (edited)

Carolyn's smile drops completely "I have business to attend to. Thank you for your assistance. I wish you luck with your recovery." She rushes out of the room.

"What? Hey, wait!" A yell emanates out of my mouth as she makes her escape.

((Channel split?))

"Damn it!"

8:43 PM

"Do you know why she came here?"

"Well, her arm probably."

"What about it?"

"You didn’t notice?"

"I didn't notice." (edited)

"Her left arm. It had bandages around her hand."

"Oh."

"Anyway, you wanted that sandwich, right?"

"I still do."

"Right." The nurse leaves to get it.

I lay down again and wait.

The nurse returns with a sandwich.

I take the sandwich and scoff it down.

??? successfully consumes food.

I dismiss the sandwich lady.

The male nurse leaves.

I continue laying down and try to get some rest, not exactly out of choice.

After a few more hours, ??? is feeling better. Alexi enters the room.

"...Hey, Alexi."

"Hi. Are you done wasting time, now?"

"What?"

"I need you. Come on."

"Need me for what?"

"To save Harriet!"

"Why?"

"You promised!"

"Don't you have anything better to do by now?"

He grabs ??? by the arm and pulls them off the bed.

"Ughh..."

9:15 PM

I stagger out of the room. "Fine."

They drag ??? out of the hospital. (edited)

((New nonbinary name))

9:17 PM

"Where is she?"

"The police station. But first, we need to go to my apartment."

"Okay."

Alexi goes to her apartment. ((End session))

((Saturday))

This isn’t the apartment ??? was brought to last time.

"What was the apartment you brought me to last time?"

"Also my apartment, but this one’s the old one." He points to a window. "And there’s a way to get out if we’re cornered."

"The window?"

"Yeah. There’s a fire escape you can just barely reach." Alexi.

"Who would want to corner us, anyway?"

"…Good point. Force of habit, I guess." They sigh. "Can you take a look around to see if he left us any weapons?"

"...Who?"

"Johnner. He was here yesterday. Tried to kill me."

"Oh."

2:44 PM

I look around the apartment for weapons.

((Roll))

((20))

??? finds some kitchen knives and a hammer. There’s also an unopened envelope addressed to Alexi Braun, which isn’t a weapon it just seems noteworthy.

"Bran is a weird name." I open the envelope and look inside.

"Huh? Wait, give me that." Alexi. The letter is from a DNA testing company.

I keep holding it. "...What's DNA?"

"Give me that and I’ll explain."

I give it to the Alexi.

She reads it as she explains. "DNA is like what tells your body how it’s supposed to look. Genetics and stuff. Everyone has unique DNA, so you can use it to identify people."

"So these bandages are part of my DNA?"

"No, the bandages are just covering up your face. Or, well… When I took a sample for this it seemed like you just don’t have one at all." A deep unease sets into ???.

"Huh?" I just stand there for a few moments, and the unease manifests as a noticeable nervousness. "Sample... what? Sample for what?"

"For your DNA. Don’t you want to find out who you were? I do."

"When did you do that?"

"You were passed out in my other apartment, remember?"

"Okay, um... but how would you find anything new from my DNA, anyway? It would just tell you how I look." (edited)

"In this case, it’ll tell me your name." Alexi. ??? feels the strong compulsion to stop this.

"What?"

3:03 PM

"Hey, give me that back." I try to snatch the letter out of her hands.

((Roll))

((11))

They keep the letter. "What are you doing?"

"I... It's my DNA. I should have the letter."

"Why? Because you’re scared I’ll know your name?"

"..." It's true that I distrust her. That makes sense. "Yes?" (edited)

"So was this whole amnesiac thing an act?"

"No. I just don't know what you might do with my name."

"I’d know it. It’s not complicated."

"If you knew it, you could manipulate me with it."

"How?"

"...Why else would you want to know it, anyway?"

3:23 PM

I sigh. "I just distrust you."

"Well, too bad." He puts the letter down. "I already read it."

"Well whatever you say, you're probably lying."

3:27 PM

"If it was so easy to find out my name, I would already know it."

"Oh, it’s real. Isn’t that right,-" Alexi begins to talk. ??? is hit with sudden terror. They has to stop Alexi from saying it. (edited)

I stab them.

"-Hav Kerloe." Hav intuitively understands this is true. ((Roll)) (edited)

((3))

Hav misses.

I try again.

"What the fuck!?" ((Roll))

((6))

It misses again. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Alexi runs away.

"You didn't do what I told you to do." (edited)

3:52 PM

"Why?"

"I’m my own person! I don’t listen to anyone but myself!"

"You stole my DNA."

"So what? Someone else stole your whole face? I’m a much smaller bad guy, here."

"Does that excuse you?"

"I don’t need an excuse! Hate me all you want, you can’t just go and stab me!"

"Yes I can."

"No, you can’t!"

"Yes I can!"

They jump out of the window.

I make after her.

((Roll))

((2))

??? falls out of the window, hits a car below, and loses consciousness. ((End session/chapter))

Carolyn continues her search for Ethfan.

She finds him in a patient room, he’s looking out of a window silently.

"Ethfan, are you prepared to make our way out of this facility? It would be more efficient to discuss our next move as we walk."

"…"

"Have your eardrums been damaged from the beating? My apologies for being presumptuous. I am capable of making use of sign language, if the need arises."

He turns around and walks out. "I can hear fine."

"Excellent. I have been given some time to consider our next move, and I believe I have come to a conclusion. Our previous encounter has made our true enemy clear."

"Howard? You’re scared of him?"

"No. He doesn't matter. He is too much of a coward to execute me despite his numerous opportunities. A man like that can change nothing. I mean Ehn."

"I don’t follow."

"Every problem in our plans traces back to that cat. A perfume that controls minds. A cheap suit that can somehow shatter a blade. Although I don't know Bob Smith's ability, he made it clear he has one. And as I've just discovered, so does Dana Craig. The world is a cruel place already, it is difficult to die in one of the few moments of happiness most are granted. If powers such as that were to run rampant? It would be impossible. We shall treat the symptoms first, and they will lead us to the source of the disease."

"And how exactly do you plan to kill a magic cat?"

"If it proves impossible, removing her pawns shall suffice. She would have no need to create them were she able to act freely."

"Wouldn’t she just create more, then? It’s an unwinnable battle."

"Everyone... everything has a breaking point. You cannot kill an idea, but you can change its meaning. If this creature cannot be broken by traditional means, we must simply break her spirit. Find what drives her, and crush it."

"Jeez, you’re no fun." Ehn simply appears in front of them. Ethfan doesn’t react.

"Do not worry. If you truly are immortal, you will have plenty of time after the extinction of humanity to recover mentally. A luxury the rest of us do not have."

"What?" Ethfan. "Do you really think I’m your enemy?" Ehn.

"If you can provide an alternative explanation, I am more than willing to hear you out. The ceaseless attacks by those holding your blessings simply does not paint the best picture."

"I gave you a blessing, didn’t I? I saved you. I’m generous like that." Ehn. "Is it here? Are you talking to it?" Ethfan.

"I do not deny the possibility that you are simply misguided, attempting to provide generosity to those in need of help. Intentions are not enough to make an act just, unfortunately for you. Besides, I was only in danger because a previous one of your charity cases was making his way to my doorstep. I would be just as alive and well were you to have never made such a foolish attempt at altruism. Sans a hand, that is. Of course, this is all assuming you were not simply setting me up to need to accept owing you a 'favor'."

"It’s aaaaall part of the plan. Granted, it didn’t go perfectly… But you’ll thank me someday. Both of you 2." Ehn. "Is. It. There?" Ethfan.

"Yes, Ethfan. Did you have something you needed to ask?"

"Where?" Ethfan.

Carolyn waves her hand through Ehn's head "Right here. The head, to be precise."

"Rude." Ehn. Ethfan looks at it intensely. "What are you?" Ehn smiles smugly. "I am Ehn, of course."

"The response given was 'I am Ehn, of course'."

"That’s not answer." Ethfan. "What, you want to know if I’m god or something? That’s a bit cliche isn’t it?" Ehn.

"This line of questioning does not appear to be helpful, Ethfan. We can only hope it has slipped up and revealed useful information to one of the others."

"What do you have against me? What’s the joke?" Ethfan says coldly. Ehn reacts but doesn’t say anything.

"No response this time. Perhaps you've hit a sensitive spot."

"Coward." Ethfan mutters, then leaves.

Carolyn stays "Judging by your warning to me, shall I assume you would provide the same to any others you've deemed worthy of holding a power? Not that I would hesitate if so, I simply wish to be prepared."

Ehn shrugs.

"If you intend to remain silent, I do believe this conversation is over."

"Good luck!" She leaves.

Carolyn follows Ethfan.

"So… Next errand, then?"

"Go ahead and pencil in the murder of Dana Craig into our schedule for the day. Sean's power is practically useless, but I have no idea what she is capable of. The other gifted individuals remain lower priorities, and we can deal with Bob when we pick up my father."

"…" He doesn’t immediately answer. "We’re going back to your office. Your coworker is a potential problem, but an easy one to resolve. One we’re going to determine now."

Carolyn nods "Yes, I was considering giving him a call earlier, but my glasses remain a tool that I find rather useful."

Ethfan headed to Carolyn’s office.

Carolyn also heads there.

Instead of Matrick, what waited for them in the therapy office's lobby was Carl Tucker, alive and well. ((End session))

((Saturday))

"…What?" Ethfan.

"...I suppose this isn't a completely unreasonable turn of events. It is not as if Ethfan reported to actually see his passing, and I could merely trust his account of events. This should not be an issue, Carl certainly cannot competently stand in our way. Yes, I am glad that the report was false. I will keep in mind to resume my assistance of Carl's happiness. This does pose evidence for another problem, though..." Carolyn smiles "Ah, hello again, Mr. Tucker. Are you waiting for a therapy appointment at the moment?" (edited)

"What? Uh, therapy? Nah… It’s… Well, I mean… Sort of, I guess." Carl. Ethfan tries to reach for his gun, finding nothing.

Carolyn whispers to Ethfan "The boy with the crowbar destroyed it. My apologies." Returning to her normal volume, she responds to Carl "Perhaps waiting on Mr. Patthews then?"

"What? No, this is like… A woman’s job, y’know? I’m… I’m a feminist. I get it." Carl.

"Thank you for your respectfulness of the matter of women's rights, but regardless of your opinion on the matter, there is a male therapist working here. I am currently on something of a leave, so it would be best to direct your needs towards him, for the moment."

"Psht, what? That’s not… That wouldn’t work." He looks nothing like a woman. Carl.

"Are you... here to acquire a woman for an unrelated reason? Perhaps to prove a point to someone?"

"What? Huh? No, I’m… I’ve got nothing to prove. It’s just effortless. Well, I guess, uh… I have one thing to prove." She's probably handing out certificates.

"And who, may I ask, do you have to prove this to?"

"Oh, you know, just like… The world, I guess. It’s a good medal to have." Carl.

"...Hm, very well. I certainly appreciate your understanding of the importance of therapy. Allow me a moment to discuss this with my associate." She motions to Ethfan.

"…Yes?" Ethfan.

She lowers her voice again "If Carl is alive, that lends more credence towards the possibility of Niebel as Fredrick's visitor. Carl accompanying him would explain why there were two. From your surprise, I assume you are not aware of any possible alibi he has?" (edited)

"I’m not." Ethfan.

"Very well. Keep watch for me, will you?" She returns her gaze to Carl "Let us step into my office. I believe it will assist you in opening up to be in a more comfortable space."

"Yeah, I get it. I’m cool with uh… Offices." He goes in.

Carolyn follows after him and shuts the door, before taking a seat. "Is there anything in particular that has been on your mind recently? I can make a suggestion of topic if you do not hold a preference, of course."

"Nah, I’m like… Well adjusted. Normal cool guy stuff." Harriet…

"I see, that is excellent to hear. Of course, I cannot provide you a certificate without hearing more specifics. Let us begin with your relationships, if that is fine with you?"

"Relationships? Uh… Not really any, anymore."

"Ah, sorry for my ambiguity. I meant in the general sense of your bonds with others. Not just limited to the romantic variety."

"Oh. Like, uh… Like what?" Not really into that sort of thing.

"Of course, it is fine if you do wish to discuss past romantic relationships. If there is an ex that has particularly been on your mind, for example, that may be worthwhile to have a conversation regarding."

"Just… Y’know. Wife stuff. You know how women get, right? You’re one." Don’t really feel like telling her more than that.

"Yes, I am familiar with the behavior patterns of women. Alright, if you do not wish to discuss that topic, we can move on. Tell me about how your days have gone recently, that may allow us to find something helpful to discuss. Perhaps beginning after we parted ways on Sunday?"

"Oh, uh… That guy, your coworker? You should probably fire him." Yeah.

"And why would that be? I hope you understand, a complaint needs to be a bit more specific to hold water."

"He tried to shoot me." And the boss.

"That is indeed quite serious. I'll make sure the proper punishment is dealt out. The health of my clients is my primary concern, as it should be for any therapist."

"Yeah, see… You get it. You're one of the good ones." What were we talking about again?

"What occurred after the attempt on your life, if I may inquire further?"

"Oh, uh… I had to take the boss to a hospital. They like put him in this wheelchair thing." Like Harriet.

"That certainly sounds as if it would be an inconvenience for him. I suppose he must have been preoccupied with rest for the remainder of the day."

"Pretty sure, yeah." So what?

"Apologies, I just want to make sure everyone close to you is fine. Negative afflictions to close ones can cause stress on you as well. Have you seen him since, to confirm he's fine?"

"Yeah… Sort of."

"Sort of?" (edited)

"Well, after that… He got in some trouble with the mob." Fuck.

"Oh dear. Quite the scary business to get oneself wrapped up in. Do not worry about divulging details to me. Even if I wished to share them, a therapist's code of ethics prevents them from doing so."

"That’s… I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m a cool dude. Sane, right? You get it."

"Yes, I do get it, Mr. Tucker. That is why I believe you are ready for your certificate. Allow me to step out for a moment and retrieve one." She moves to exit the room.

"Wait!"

She stops and turns back to him "Hm? Is there an issue?"

"It’s, uh… Like… We didn’t really cover everything."

"...Of course, how silly of me. Though, I do believe I did ask if you had any specific topics in mind. Have I sparked your memory since then?"

"Ah, it’s just… Uh. Psht, it probably… Well- Yeah." Yeah. …Yeah. Yeah.

Carolyn stares at him for a moment. With a sigh, she responds "I see the problem, Mr. Tucker. I do apologize for making use of such an ability, but my feminine intuition tells me what the issue is. You're having trouble with a disabled woman, are you not?"

"Oh, uh… What?" Women aren’t that smart, right?

"Have you never seen the use of this ability before? Us women do not have many advantages, but we are given insight into matters of the heart. When a man is having troubles with a woman, it is easy for us to identify it in his behavior, and the way you looked when you mentioned the wheelchair..."

"Oh, that makes sense." Does it?

"Thank you for affirming that it is a sensible explanation. I feel more confident knowing you've deemed it as such. Now then, let us touch on what the issue with her is, shall we?"

"Oh, well, see… She’s like… My secretary."

Carolyn nods "I see. Quite the potential for an unhealthy power dynamic in such a workplace relationship."

"Wh-What? No, I didn’t- I’m a cool guy." Deep shame wells up in him.

"...Would she share that opinion?"

"I… Well…" She probably has more power over me than I do over her. Fuck, that’s embarrassing.

"Do not misunderstand me, I am not here to cast judgment on you, Mr. Tucker. I simply need to hear out the full situation. That includes what you want out of the relationship. If there were no power being thrown around in either direction, would you be happy with how things are with her?" (edited)

"Ah, well… You know how, with women." That wasn’t a coherent thought in his head either.

"...Let's practice a mental exercise. Close your eyes for me, if you would."

"Ummm... Okay." He closes his eyes.

"Now, imagine your life ten years in the future. You have your dream house, your dream job, everyone respects you. That sort of thing."

"But do I like... Earn it?"

7:33 PM

"It's not just given to me, right?"

"Of course you earned it. Those who stumble into success often find themselves unhappy. Winning the lottery and such is thought of in much higher regards by those who have never experienced it."

"Yeah, it's uh... I dunno. You ever heard that rumor last week about my brother?"

"No, I cannot say I have."

"Well, they were saying that uh... The boss killed him."

"...But you do not suspect him, I assume?"

"W-Well, that's..."

"Mr. Tucker, I think the problems and solutions here are clear. If you would be fine with hearing out my perspective."

"Oh, uh, yeah... What?"

"You need to start over. Everything about the life you're living now is chaining you down. The death of your brother, your conflicted feelings over Mr. Niebel, and most of all, the job you inherited due to no effort of your own. It makes you feel worthless, like a fraud, one who doesn't deserve any of the respect or recognition you receive. You cannot even stand up to your secretary, because you know she's worked harder than you ever have. There is only one way to free yourself of this guilt. You need to prove it wrong. You need to show you can climb your way back up without any nepotism. You have the ability to earn everything for yourself, you were just cheated out of the opportunity to use it."

"But I… I don’t wanna be alone."

Carolyn takes a moment to respond to this, considering whether to sugarcoat his situation. With a deep breath, she settles on a response "Doesn't what you have now already make you feel alone?"

"Not… Really?"

9:34 PM

"I’m… I just need to not lose anything."

"That... can be worked around, I suppose. You just need to acquire something else as valuable as your current job position. That will prove you could have gotten your job on your own, while not requiring you to sacrifice anything."

"Do you… Think bad people exist?"

"...No, I can't say that I do. Or, rather, I don't think it would matter if they did. Assign actions morality as you wish, but assigning it to people implies they are lesser, less deserving of happiness."

"So I’m… I’m a good person, right?"

"If the only way you can view yourself how you wish is to believe the possibility of failure does not exist, it does not seem as if it will be a label you are satisfied with. Perhaps if you were deluded enough, but questioning this shows that you are not."

"So I should be… More deluded? I can do that. I’m… I’m good at that."

"That sounds more similar to acting. Do not misunderstand me, I believe resolving your issues in a straightforward manner is the solution most likely to work. You have reason to believe that you are a bad person. That needs to be corrected."

"W-Wouldn’t it just be easier… To get rid of the part that thinks that?"

"If possible, I would agree. Unfortunately, short of a lobotomy, you will find it quite hard to truly remove a piece of your mind. It is merely something we have to work around, and satisfy until our time comes." Right after she stops speaking, she pipes up again to add a quick clarification "Not that I am suggesting a lobotomy, of course, the side effects are quite devastating."

"Oh, uh… How bad?"

"Headaches, seizures, dementia... It is not a state anyone would wish to be in. Not to mention the surgery cannot be legally practiced in the modern day."

"Oh. Oh, yeah… That sounds… Bad."

"Good to hear. Now then, you have three options, Mr. Tucker. You can tell me what has made you doubt your position as a good person, and we can work to solve it. You can keep it to yourself, and attempt a solution on your own. Or, you can simply keep letting it eat away at you. Your trust in me, and your acceptance of hardship into your life, shall determine your actions."

"Just... Doubt, y'know. Happens to the best of us. Except for me. ...What?"

"...Is your self-praise involuntary? Like some sort of verbal tic you've developed to survive in your situation?"

"Huh? Uh... I guess. Maybe?" He paused. "I'd rather... Be that person than the rest, though."

"There's nothing wrong with desiring confidence, yes. If you wish to stop your doubt, you may want to consider anxiety medication. I am not qualified to prescribe dosages of drugs, but your difficulty controlling worrying may be a symptom of a chemical imbalance."

"I don’t… I’m normal. That’s the point here."

"Right, well... if you do not believe there is an issue, then I cannot help you. Have we covered everything?"

"Uh…" He opened his eyes and looked at the floor. "…Yeah. I guess. Yeah."

"Wait here for a moment." She stands up and exits the room.

Ethfan is on the phone. When he sees her, he hangs up.

After she closes the door behind her, she begins speaking "We spoke of his recent contact with Mr. Niebel, and no mention of Fredrick Wight was made. If Mr. Niebel was one of the visitors, Carl was not his accompaniment." As she says this, she uses her phone to pull up a generic therapy certificate on google images, and sets it to print on a printer that the therapy office has. (edited)

"…I see. Honestly, the fact he’s alive at all should be a nuisance but he doesn’t seem to have it in him to do anything. I suppose he’s harmless for now." The image prints.

"My thoughts as well. I am quite pleased, really. After we deal with our rather large list of threats to our cause, I may continue working on his happiness as a side project. He seems incapable of helping himself, so I would likely need to get in contact with this 'Harriet' he mentioned having romantic issues with."

He shrugs.

Carolyn picks up the printed image, and with a pen from her purse, writes 'Carl Tucker' on the recipient line. She re-enters her office with it in hand. "Your official certificate of completed therapy has been processed."

"Oh, uh… Thanks." He takes it. "So it’s… Its confirmed, right?"

"Of course. Though you are free to return at any time."

"Why would… Why would I do that?"

She smiles "It never hurts to have someone to talk to."

"But, uh… No one can doubt this, right?" He holds up the certificate. "It’s official?"

"I am sure that anyone who doubts it simply does not believe in the practice of therapy in the first place."

"Is that… Is that a thing you can do?"

"Anyone has the choice to not believe in any practice in medicine. I consider those of that set of opinions to be rather uninformed and ignorant, though it is likely a result of the environment they were raised in."

"Oh... Uh okay." Carl. Ethfan stormed in, looking worried. "There's problems." He turned to Carl. "Get out. It's private."

Carolyn nods to Carl "You'd be best off following that suggestion. I am glad we could get you certified before being interrupted."

Carl leaves with the certificate. Ethfan waits for him to leave before he talks. "Grobber got out of prison yesterday."

"Is that an issue?"

"Not... On it's own." Ethfan showed her a clip on his phone with Grobber on Fredrick Wight's show, as he holds up a phone. Dana Craig's voice comes from the phone.

Carolyn stares in disbelief for what, under the circumstances, is likely a reasonable amount of time. "It doesn't matter... That... That's fine. I'm... I was done with therapy anyway. Things were already getting too heated. I needed to lay low. Help dad run the New Edlightenment underground. That's more efficient anyway. That... No, that's not... I need to analyze her words... She could kill me in a second? Is that her power? How am I supposed to deal with that? What kind of monster has Ehn created? I'm only safe because... she knows I would be better off dying happy. That's right, because I believe in what I'm doing fully. It doesn't matter if she spoke out against me... It doesn't matter. There's no proof, the public may shun me, but they can't do anything. This accusation will fade when I die, but my effects on the world, those will continue as a snowball effect. I'm not obsessed with petty revenge like her... I only need her dead out of necessity."

"You're trending online, even if no one seems to know who you are. I suggest we rush to a hotel before they figure it out and hide there until tomorrow. No more risks." Ethfan.

"...What will waiting a day change? We need to finish preparations, right? We still haven't found Matrick."

"We'll be ready for it tomorrow like we planned. If Matrick Patthews is onto us, I doubt he'll be ready for anything by then. After that... We can just leave town and avoid any danger." Ethfan.

Carolyn sighs "Fine, it is not as if I actually have an idea of where to search for him. I can not agree with leaving town, though. For all we know, Ehn has granted one of Dana's allies a location tracking ability. Even if she didn't, Dana threatened me with instant death. She's holding off for now, but if I hide for too long, and she isn't bluffing, there would be nothing I could do in response. We have to settle matters with her."

"The new Edlightenment has a base upstate. We'd just be heading into secure territory with reinforcements."

"...Very well, more allies will certainly help. Especially after the losses at the mall." Carolyn heads for the exit of the therapy office.

Ethfan grabs Carolyn's plants.

Carolyn stares at him "Why are you... doing that?"

"..." Ethfan looked down at the plants he was carrying. "...It might come in handy." He walked out of the office.

"I suppose I... have no reason to stop him. Whatever therapist takes over my position can always buy new plants." Carolyn follows him out.

Hav wakes up the next morning.

I get up. It's a Wednesday, which is the day of the week. This day of the week is Wednesday, which is good. I have work today. My brother is still missing, which is good. I need to go to work today. Carlfield would go to work today, which is Monday. The day of the week in which Carlfield is upset. Traditionally in society, people wake up in the morning on Monday. It's the first day in which they go to work, every Monday. In comparison to Sunday, in which there is no work, this is disappointing. The irony of this is that Carlfield is a cat, who does not have a job. Therefoere, there is functionally no difference between Monday and other days to him. The veil of comedy is established by the way Carlfield's feelings on Mondays mean nothing—the cat has convinced himself that this matters to him, somehow. I am like Carlfield, as I work every day. But unlike Carlfield, I am aware. Which is good. I brush my teeth. I feed the fish, which need to eat. If they want to survive, they have to eat, but they can't eat without my help. They are just like me, who cannot eat without my help. I cannot brush my teeth without my help. Today I brush my teeth, which happens often. I don't know why. I decide to head to the place I work, that being the therapy office, where I sell fish to various customers.

Matrick is there, at the office. "Oh... Hi, Hav."

"Hello. How did things go yesterday?"

"Not, uh... Not great. Pretty bad actually. But uh... That's a corpse, right? How else was I supposed to react?"

"I understand." I wait for further instructions.

"So uh... What can we do? What can... She died, right? So... We can be sure the danger is real."

"That's correct. Did you tell the authorities anything?"

"Well, obviously... But they- They weren't willing to listen. I don't understand why! How... How dangerous is this? We're... This is reality, right? Conspiracy theories can't just come true!"

"I would say that you're correct, we are in reality right now." That's true. Hmm...he might not be as stupid as I assumed.

"So... What's the explanation? All the details add up. But... Just... Inherently, this isn't how life works, right? Are... Are we the crazy ones?"

"I think it makes sense. Sometimes, people do bad things. Is there an issue with that, in your mind?"

"But it's... The world is protecting her! It's like she's untouchable... But I- I don't know..."

"The world protects nobody. It's simply coincidence. Be rational, please." I'm not sure why I thought otherwise. This person really is a complete idiot.

"Coincidence... Right, yeah." He starts pacing around. "I'm a normal, rational... Individual. I... I'm so sane they let me teach other people how to be sane. I don't- I shouldn't be falling for these sorts of... These mistakes."

"Correct."

"Conspiracies... Aren't real." Matrick nods to himself. This guy walks in.

I note the guy that has walked in. (edited)

"Oh, umm..." Matrick wipes his forehead. "Hello! How may I help you?" "I'm Carl. Tucker." Carl Tucker.

I say nothing.

"Okay, Mr. Tucker, I don't think I have an appointment with you..." Matrick. "Oh, uh... No. It's... This is like a woman deal, y'know?" Carl. "Excuse me?" Matrick.

I say no things.

"Y'know it's... Where's Carolyn?" Carl. "Carolyn?" Matrick freezes up. "Carolyn. Carolyn..." "Yeah, Blythe." Carolyn.

I decide to be generous and provide the answer. "He doesn't know."

"No. Uh, no... It's... She'll- She'll be here soon. Umm... She doesn't- She doesn't have any patients. Right now." Matrick. "Patient? No, I'm like... Active. Like the opposite. I'm not... I'm not one of those lunatics, y'know? You feel me? You can- You get me, right? Like just from a look." Carl.

I say nothing.

"So... Why are you-?" Matrick. "Just... Y'know. Business. I'm rich." Carl deflects. Matrick stares at him.

I don't say anything.

"Hav, come with me please." Matrick walks out.

I obey.

Matrick runs all the way to an apartment building.

As do I.

He rushes into an elevator.

I enter that same elevator.

He presses the button for his floor and takes a deep breath.

I take a breath of normal depth.

They arrive at the floor, and he rushes into his apartment. It's not locked.

I enter his apartment as well.

"Where is it...? Where did I leave it?" Matrick throws things aside as he searches through his initially clean room.

I watch this happen.

Finally, he pulls out a gun.

I note that this has happened.

"She's got... She's got connections. It's not crazy anymore."

"I agree."

"We have no choice... But to take matters into our own hands." Instead of his hands, he tries to put the gun in Hav's.

I hold the gun. "How do I use it?"

"You just... Point it at her... And pull the trigger there."

"Why can't you do it?"

"Well that's... I don't want to become a murderer."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because... It does, okay."

"No, I want you to explain. I don't understand."

"It’s…" He sighs and takes the gun back. "No, no… You’re right. I can’t just give the mentally ill guns. I’m your caretaker here, it’s my job."

I nod. He obviously doesn't understand, but he never will. He's beyond helping.

He looks at the gun in his hands. "Now we just… What?"

((Saturday))

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 10/12/2023 9:27 AM

He looks at the gun in his hands. "Now we just… What?"

((Does Sunday 2PM work I’m so good at remembering to say things))

It does work yup

"What's wrong?"

"Well… What do we do? What’s the plan? I guess I didn’t think this far ahead."

"If I remember correctly, your proposition seemed to imply that you will use the gun to shoot Carolyn Blythe." (edited)

He cringes. "…But how do we find her?"

"Why don't we go to her office? People usually go to work."

"But she wasn’t there earlier…" He mumbled. "Fine. I guess we have no other ideas."

I nod.

Matrick tries to hide the gun in his pants and walks out of the apartment.

I follow him.

He shuts and locks the door behind him, before heading back towards the office.

I follow him.

He hides in an alleyway off to the side. "This way, we can watch her without her knowing. It’s like a spy thriller."

"Oh, like Jon Bond."

"…Yeah, sure." He looks at the office. "It’s fun getting to live in the world of the mentally ill for a while."

He must mean Carolyn Blythe. That would make sense. It would explain why she works in such a place, too. I'm hit with confusion by the nature of our waiting. But I quickly realize this is brilliant; shocking for someone like him. He is unconcerned with the passage of time, not bothered by the idea that we need to wait for her. He is attempting the strategy with the greatest chance of success. He's demonstrating a shocking amount of understanding. His words often make me feel as though he's a bit too much of a slave to the world around him, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe he's only pretending to be unaware. I wait.

His phone rings, so he picks it up. "Hello caller, and welcome to my phone. Who is this?"

I listen.

"It’s for… You?" He holds out the phone to Hav.

I take the phone. I speak into the phone. "Yes?"

The voice is distorted. "Can the other one hear me right now?"

I don't know if this is true or not, but it doesn't matter to anything. "No, he can't."

Ethfan's voice speaks through the phone. "…It’s me."

"R-Really? W-What is it?"

"Are you stuttering?" He sounds judgmental. "…Whatever. Jeff Johnner died."

I take a deep breath. "...Sorry. What...happened...?"

"He blew up. I don’t know." He sounds casual. "It means our issues have probably solved themselves."

"Huh? What do you need me to do?"

He doesn’t immediately answer. "…What have you been up to?"

"I haven't done anything important."

"Good. That’s what you were supposed to."

I smile.

"…"

"What is it that you need me to do now?"

"…It’s always the same with you, isn’t it? With us, maybe."

"Hmm?"

"What would you do if I died? You weren’t really given anything to do without me, were you?"

"I don't see the point in discussing things that won't happen."

"Hm. But don’t you know that people die every day? Johnner did. I didn’t even cause that. Completely surprising. What says it can’t happen to me? Would you even care?"

I forget sometimes. My brother isn't necessarily as understanding as me, at least in some areas. It works to illuminate his humanity, in a way. He's so worried about death...and it's my responsibility to assuage my brother's discomfort, after all. At least until he can mature a bit. "Yes, I would care. I'm sorry for implying otherwise. It would sadden me greatly."

He chuckles a bit. I don’t really understand what he finds funny, either. "Keep doing whatever you’re doing. I’ll finish my things soon."

"Okay!"

"…I love Hav Kerloe." He then mumbles something too quietly to be understood, before hanging up.

I hand the phone back to Michael Patrick.

"Who was it?" He puts the phone away. "I didn’t know you had friends."

"Oh, it was nothing important." I try to stop smiling.

"Well, aside from me obviously." He tries to smile back. "I can be your friend for now."

I nod in recognition, in spite of the clear insanity of his statement.

He goes back to watching the office. "…How did they know to call me, though?"

Is Jim Halpert there? "People are smarter than you think."

"…I’m the bigger authority on the human brain here."

"I suppose that's true." It's best to agree with whatever he says for now. (edited)

"You should."

"I should...what?"

"Suppose that."

"Ah. I do."

"The first step to getting better is to recognize when people know better than you. Though now isn’t the time for that."

I nod.

Carl Tucker leaves the office holding a piece of paper.

I look to MP. (edited)

Matrick thinks to himself for a while before responding. "Did he steal that…? Or is Carolyn in there?"

"I think it's likely that Carolyn is in there."

He nods a few times silently. "Which means… Which means she’ll come out soon."

I nod back.

He takes out his gun and stares at it. "…Are you ready, Hav? Murder isn’t something you can ever take back."

"Yes." What a stupid question. Maybe I overestimated him earlier. Or maybe this is simply him pretending yet again. Does it really matter?

"…" He nods to himself a few times still staring. Carolyn and Ethfan walk out of the building and start walking away. Ethfan is carrying potted plants.

"Wait. Don't move." I whisper to Mater. (edited)

"What? Why?"

I think telling the truth would probably be the best option, here. That said, I need an excuse. This...should be fine." "That's my brother with her. He's one of her patients. He's innocent. I can't let you shoot while he's there."

"…But what if she kills him first?"

"Please, just wait. That's clearly not happening right now."

He aims the gun at Carolyn tentatively. "…Fine. Okay. We’ll just follow them for a while."

"Alright."

He puts the gun away again. "…Thanks for- Thanks for the excuse to not shoot her. Even if I didn’t need it. It’s… Its important to be kind like that." He continues tailing them.

I follow along. It's almost pitiable how he feels the need to put on this show for me. He really doesn't understand me at all.

Carolyn and Hav arrive at a hotel. "Are they staying the night there? That could... That could be a problem." Matrick.

"Why would that be a problem?" Does he have something against hotels? Stupid people like him often take absurd stands against completely normal things, after all.

"Because they'll spend the night together, and that means we can't get them apart until tomorrow." He pauses. "Oh no... Is she sleeping with a patient? That's a completely inappropriate breach of the rules."

9:20 PM

Carolyn and Ethfan enter the hotel.

"I think that's the least of your concerns. Regardless, have you considered sneaking into their room? Or perhaps we could request the room next to theirs."

"How is that the least of my concerns? Don't you know how dangerous therapist patient relationships are? It's like if you and I slept together. I have full control over you as an authority figure, the power dynamic would be completely imbalanced."

"Yes, okay, you're right." It's best to move this conversation in a more relevant direction. (edited)

"Great. So we need to stop this, quickly."

It's time to put him to the test. Is he really pretending to be stupid, or not? This will be the perfect way to figure that out. "Like I said, what if you tried sneaking into the room? I think that you could do it. That way you could eavesdrop, and intervene if anything bad happens."

"That doesn't seem possible."

"Why not?"

"Hotel rooms are locked, and we don’t have keys."

"What if you hid under a food cart, and I faked a room service call to the room?"

"Hav… We’re not in whatever looney toons world your mind is in. You can wait until we’re done with this for that sort of thought."

"Do you have an argument for why that wouldn't work?"

"Because we wouldn’t have access to a food cart or any way to fake that call. Even then, they’d obviously notice a full grown man in their food cart. And even if it was possible to get into the room, I’d have no opportunity to get out before the food cart was taken out."

He really is an idiot. This is so disappointing. It suddenly hits me—if that's the case, I have no reason to be here anymore. My brother is safe, so I can leave. There's no reason to bother with this. I have to keep doing whatever I'm doing, and nothing more. I can't believe I let myself be dragged into such an absurd fantasy. I doubted my brother, didn't I? That's why I'm here in the first place. There's no point. I turn and walk away in the direction of the place I live, which is in the city of Avengard.

"Where are you going?"

I speed up my pace of walking.

"Did you get an idea?" Matrick runs after him.

"No. I'm going home. I'm done with this."

"But we need to save your brother!"

"He'll be fine."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Trust me." I walk faster.

"Oh. Ohh… I get it. This is one of the symptoms of your delusion. It’s not real, Hav." He’s still following.

I don't respond and keep walking back to the apartment.

"Ugh… Fine. I’ll catch up to you." Matrick heads back to the hotel. Hav arrives at the apartment.

I check the sky for the time.

It’s late.

I head into the apartment and check the mail.

Hav has missed 2 Carlfield comics.

I read them.

This is the first.

Huh. This is certainly an interesting piece. The most immediately noticeable aspect of this one is the mention of "real problems". It seems to imply a sort of "unrealness" to other problems, which is...accurate, but not quite on the mark when taken in context. Yet what John David's inspiration truly seems to be here is the nature of Carlfield as a representation of the unawareness of people. This "problem" isn't real because Carlfield isn't real. He is a fictional character, and both John David and the audience knows this. Yet, he claims it is real, thus mocking the idea that any problems are real. The real core of this strip is not in the dialogue, however; it is in the art. Carlfield turns to the audience in panel two, before looking the reader straight in the eyes. He gazes into the reader's soul, preparing a direct comparison between himself and them. They are the same. And John David is right. This problem is meaningless. Having an itch you can't scratch is meaningless. Every problem in life is like that, and Carlfield mocks this. When people think they are "struggling", they are merely being Carlfield, lamenting their minor discomfort. But then, they hit that breakthrough, that moment of awareness. They find the truth. It's all a performance for Carlfield, because in this world, he knows. He wants to show you. That's why he exists. John David is sacrificing so, so much for this. That's the question I still have... Why? Why would he be willing to spread this knowledge? Is it not better for Carlfield to turn the other way? Is it not better for Carlfield to leave his thoughts unstated? (edited)

This is the second.

Now this...this might illuminate quite a bit. James tells Carlfield to do nothing, and nothing is done. But, the real curiosity here is the way James feels the need to announce 'doing nothing'. He lacks the same understanding that Carlfield does, that nothing is the state of existence one always maintains. It's delusion to feel the need to do anything more. You're only making yourself suffer, that way. We can additionally compare this to the methods John David uses to write Carlfield. He does too much, every day, with every new Carlfield strip. He is a living contradiction, spreading a message at odds with the nature of spreading a message in the first place. In either case, I feel as if this strip illuminates things for me. Because it's obvious that, from a literal perspective, James and Carlfield are a single entity. They are nothing more than a conglomeration of the internal workings of a human mind. Conflict between the real and unreal, the desire for giving into external pressure and the need to embrace one's own true self. In that case, this announcement truly is meaningless. So, then, what am I doing? Why am I here? Who am I talking to right now? Is there a reason that I wake up in Avengard, it's a new day in Avengard. I feed the fish. I go to feed the fish. I go feed the fish. In Avengard, I go feed the fish. I get up and go feed the fish. I walk up the stairs to feed the fish. I am in Avengard right now. (edited)

This succeeds.

I sleepin avneglarid

((The chapter ends))

Ethfan keeps walking away.

Carolyn keeps walking in the same direction as him.

They arrive at a hotel. "...We're going to wake up tomorrow." He says this like it's an odd detail, before entering the building.

She continues following "Are you stating that you're confident you won't suffer any form of insomnia before then? I find that quite surprising, considering today's events. That could keep many people from having a proper night of sleep."

"I don't lose sleep on the dead." He buys a room.

"That is not all I am referring to. Your plans have become rather tattered. That will certainly affect your ability to help people properly in the future, no? Does not that not affect your mood at all? Of course, it is good to be optimistic, I just expect others to be a bit less prone to adaptation in their solutions."

"Things have solely improved. An obstacle has been removed from our way." He heads to the room.

"That's... a unique perspective to hold on our situation. Regardless of if the mafia's ideology aligned with our own, it is good to have such a powerful force as our allies. Not to mention the obstacles that may be coming our way from Ms. Craig airing my dirty laundry on television." She also heads to the room. (edited)

He places the plants in the corner of the room. He says nothing further.

"Oh well. I am looking forward to meeting more followers tomorrow. The few I have had a chance to speak to seemed rather pleasant." Carolyn prepares to head to sleep.

He gets into bed. "...If it comes to it, you can kill Hav."

She takes quite a few seconds to process this "...What?"

"He’s not even my real brother. I wouldn’t be losing sleep over that, either." He chuckles miserably.

"Sorry, I was unclear. It was a lapse in judgment in phrasing due to surprise. I do not know enough about your relationship with Hav to judge whether you are speaking honestly here. I simply did not expect you to have any reason to believe I would need to kill him."

"He’s with Matrick. I know that for sure now."

"I see. How unfortunate." "That's good. I thought for a moment he had seen through me. This turn of events could be seen as convenient. I already needed Hav dead, after all. I can't leave anyone Ehn has visited alive, unless I'm able to confirm their loyalty to Edlightenment. They're too strong of a threat otherwise. But... if Ethfan truly would not care, then that makes it difficult to hold leverage over him. He has become more agreeable recently, so this may not be an issue, but it does not hurt to have a backup plan." Carolyn gets out her notebook and begins making notes on what she has learned of those she's encountered throughout the day, sparse as they may have been.

Ethfan goes to sleep as she does this.

"I suppose I am lucky he did not aim for my dominant hand. These notes may not even be of any use to me if I had to interpret the chicken scratch of a freshly determined writing hand. Perhaps he was intending that, it is statistically higher probability, after all. I should have thanked him at the time." She finishes and puts away her notebook, then goes to sleep.

((End chapter))

Sean wakes up tied to a chair in an unfamiliar room. Next to him, in the same position, is Jeremy Baxter. There’s a closed window to the right of Sean. Everything Sean was holding is no longer on him.

I look around for any signs other people have been here recently.

The fact that he wasn’t here until recently makes it clear that people have been here recently.

Yes, but 'I was dragged here' and 'there is a cigarette with smoke drifting from it' are a bit different.

Not particularly.

"Jeremy."

"You remembered my name." Jeremy.

"I'm good with names."

2:21 PM

"Why were you on the ceiling?"

"Oh, umm… Well, you see… I’ll only tell you once you help me stop Ariel May."

"Oh, right. Ariel."

2:27 PM

"You said we were both being haunted by her, but in all honesty, she hasn't actually done anything to me. I'm not sure we have much in common there." (edited)

"What? But I saw you 2."

"What?"

2:29 PM

"What context did you see us in?"

"The police station! You were fighting!"

"Maybe you're confusing me with somebody else. I only met Ariel in passing." (edited)

2:39 PM

"We should focus on getting out of here."

"…How?"

"How did I meet Ariel, or how are we getting out of here?"

"Well, both but… mostly the latter."

I look to see what material is holding us to the chairs.

Rope.

"I'm not sure."

2:52 PM

I look over to the door.

It’s shut. "Can you see outside of the window from where you are?"

I check.

It requires twisting his body somewhat uncomfortably. ((Roll))

((4))

Sean cannot see through the window. (edited)

((blind ❗ ))

3:02 PM

"No."

"Damn… I wanted to see if it was safe to jump." He explains this.

"How would you jump without untying yourself?"

"Well, I still haven’t solved that step…"

"Mm."

3:04 PM

I wait in silence. (edited)

The door swings open, as EL enters. "Rise and shiiiine."

"I can't stand up."

"Do it in spirit, I dunno." She shrugs.

"What do you want from us?"

3:08 PM

"Information?"

"Nah, not really. Well… Maybe from him. Not sure what the plan is there."

"If he's the only one you need, can I go?"

"No, you’re the one we definitely need."

"Then why didn't you answer the previous question?"

"Because I’m not supposed to tell you, duh."

"Why not."

"Because the boss wants to meet you first!"

"Okay. Can I meet him now? You walked in here as if you had something important to say, but I haven't heard it."

"I’m the bragging type!" EL. "We noticed." Jeremy then whispers to Sean. "Was than own? I don’t know her."

"I don't know," I say back at a normal volume. (edited)

She laughs. "Guess what? That stunt yesterday worked like magic!"

"Which one? I've completely forgotten. Did anything notable happen involving you?" (edited)

"Trying to kill you, remember? Do try to keep up." She says smugly.

"Doesn't ring a bell. Can we meet the person more important than you yet?"

"Ha… No." EL.

"Then what are we doing here? Are you just here to entertain us while we wait?"

3:52 PM

It'd be nice if we moved on to the difficult part a bit faster.

"What you’re doing here is sitting there while I brag? Not everything’s about you, y’know? Even if… All of this sort of is about you." EL. (edited)

I wouldn't be so lucky.

3:54 PM

"What makes you say that?"

"You seriously haven’t noticed?" EL. (edited)

"Let's say I haven't."

"Everything that’s been going on these past 2 weeks… It’s aaaaall been about you. You’re just reaaaaally bad at playing along." EL.

"What have I been doing wrong...?"

"Refusing to play along, obviously! Ugh, this isn’t about you though. Stop changing the subject." EL.

"No, it is about me. That's what you've been saying this whole time. And I was following the subject you brought up."

4:01 PM

"Please. Just tell me what I need to do to play along. Won't that benefit you too?"

"Shut up, oh my god… The point is I wasn’t allowed to kill you. And I still tried! Thanks for the bullet to the head, by the way… the scar compliments my evil look perfectly." EL. "To be honest… You just kind of look pathetic." Jeremy.

"I think it looks nice. Suits your... demeanor."

EL holds a knife to Jeremy's throat. "Play nice or I’ll feed Niebel over here with a fresh steak from your flesh." Jeremy cowers. "Aaaanyway, so… After that, you kind of blew this whole thing up by meeting Johnner." EL.

"I never did anything of the sort."

4:06 PM

"He ambushed me and brought me here. That seems to be exactly what you wanted. I would say I played along perfectly."

"No. That… Was a last resort. Old Johnner's probably gonna get the boot for this. But if you ask me, so what?" EL shrugs. "He’s just been a boring mope lately. It was bound to happen."

"If he gets the boot for this, I'd say you're not far behind for enabling it."

4:08 PM

"Maybe you should let us... play along... somewhere with more opportunities to do so."

She laughs pretentiously.

"It is pretty funny, yeah."

"The boss knows he needs me, so I’m set for life now. My evil name will forever haunt the nightmares of children the world over!" She almost seems sad about this.

"I haven't seen you interact with any children."

4:13 PM

"Maybe you're targeting the wrong people for that."

She laughs and starts to leave. "See ya later! It’ll be your grand finale!"

"Wait!"

"…Hm?" EL turns around inquisitively.

Shit.

4:16 PM

"Why am I... what is this... all about? How is it about... me?"

4:17 PM

"Please. Where are we going with this? Can you tell me?"

"You’re the protagonist, obviously. And I’m the main antagonist." She walks out of the room.

"..."

4:18 PM

"Did they leave anything on you, Jeremy?"

4:18 PM

"We should... get out."

"Doesn’t seem like it." Jeremy. EL shuts the door, and suddenly this woman falls over from the door. It doesn’t seem like there’s anywhere she could’ve come from, and a small object slides out from hand across the room. Jeremy catches it with his foot.

I glance over at the object.

Jeremy covers it with his foot.

Well, I guess that's good enough. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

4:29 PM

"Are you working with our captors or against them?"

No reaction.

"What's your name? Do you know who I am?"

4:30 PM

"Do you know who he is?"

No reaction. "I think... The door knocked her out. She must've been hit really hard." Jeremy.

"By... the door?"

4:31 PM

"Whatever. What did she drop? Show it to me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." It's an obvious lie.

How close am I seated to him?

Close enough to kick him.

I kick his foot. The one covering the object.

((Roll))

((18))

"Ow!" He moves his foot, exposing a plain looking keychain.

Is there anything attached? (edited)

It’s just a keychain. There’s no key attached. Jeremy looks shocked for some reason. "Wh… Why didn’t it-?"

"Why didn't it what?"

4:45 PM

"Were you expecting something to happen?"

4:45 PM

I stare at him piercingly.

"Wh-What are you talking about? I said 'Where did it?' Like… Where did it come from?"

"We both saw where it came from. You're not a good liar."

4:47 PM

"Just kick it over to me."

"I didn’t see it."

"Yes you did. You had to have been following its movement to catch it with your foot."

"I don’t know what you mean."

"It doesn't matter if you know what I mean. What matters is that I know what that is. So pass it over." (edited)

"Why?"

"So that I can get us out of these restraints."

"Huh? How?"

"If I can get the chain into my hands, I can try to snap one of the loops and use the edge as a makeshift knife." (edited)

((By keychain I mean like. Those little decorations they put on key rings(which I assume is what you’re thinking of)))

5:02 PM

((what is it a decoration of))

5:04 PM

((has Sean's keychain been a decoration the whole time))

((No your keys are normal. This is just a boring decoration on a chain))

((okay, edited))

5:17 PM

I check what the attached decoration is out of mild curiosity.

It looks like some kind of tourist destination with a year number.

I wonder who it belonged to.

5:23 PM

"Well?"

He tries to pick it up with his feet and fails.

"We don't have infinite time, Jeremy."

He tries again, same result.

"Jeremy."

"I’m trying!" Same result.

"I did not ask you to try."

He successfully picks it up and lifts it into his lap.

"Okay. Do you want to pass it into my hands, now? I don't think you're dextrous enough to get them into your own, based on how much time you've wasted already."

He attempts to lift it with his knees into his mouth. It falls onto the floor.

I give up. He can try as many times as he wants. I'll be stuck here for eternity, waiting on my slow death from the self-described ""antagonist"".

He keeps at this until the girl wakes up. ((End session.))

((Saturday))

((Oh my god I knew I was forgetting something))

8:08 PM

((Fuck. Sorry))

((Next week. For sure this time))

8:58 PM

((On Saturday))

The girl wakes up.

"Jeremy." I say softly, in hopes of getting him to notice and stop playing with the keychain for a moment.

"Wh-Where am I?" The girl. "What?" Jeremy.

"Hide it."

Jeremy hides it. "Hide what?" The girl turns to them, before pausing. "Am I... Dead?"

I turn to her. "Maybe. I suggest you help me out of these restraints, so we can work on figuring it out." (edited)

"Why would I do that?" The girl.

"To increase your numbers, in case our captors come back. Unless you're part of their group, I suppose."

"Who are your captors?" The girl. Jeremy mutters something under his breath.

I consider it a moment.

2:35 PM

"Do you know a Jeff Johnner?"

"Him? So... We're still here. Have you seen Ms Lelouch?" The girl.

Shuichi's daughter, again? It's not exactly a common name. I think. (edited)

2:39 PM

"...yes."

"You did?" Jeremy. "Where did she go?" The girl.

"Untie us first."

She thinks silently. "Ohhhhh..." Jeremy.

I let her think, ignoring Jeremy.

She takes out a bottle of perfume and aims it as Sean.

Ah, the perfume. I remember this, although the specifics elude me a bit.

2:44 PM

I jerk my chair to the side. "Wait."

She looks at him, curious. "Why?"

"You don't have to force me to do anything. I'll help, on my own! You don't... please, just, we can work together on this."

"You already know about this? How?" The girl.

"I..."

2:52 PM

Not much point in lying to protect them.

2:52 PM

"Your parents. Your mother. She explained it to me."

"What? I don't have a mother." The girl. ((Did you think this was Maria or is this an intentional lie))

((Sean is assuming that this is the unseen Sarah Stanley, and that she's Maria's sister. Panicked thinking))

2:59 PM

((does that contradict anything or am I good))

((I mean it's a weird theory considering the Stanleys have been consistently black and this girl is white but sure if you want))

((what happened to ADOPTION in this country))

3:03 PM

"Are you... okay, not your mother. The Stanley mother. You know the Stanleys, right?"

"Like Maria? Her mother's still alive?" The girl. (edited)

"I assume so."

"How?" She jabs the perfume closer threateningly.

"We can go check, if you want!"

3:09 PM

"We can figure that out."

"Answer or I'll spray you." The girl.

"Well... she's alive because nothing killed her. If something did, then maybe she's not. You clearly you think she's dead. Right? Maybe something happened to her. My answer is that I wasn't sure to begin with. I'm not being deceptive." (edited)

"She was supposed to kill herself!" The girl. "Wow, that's uh... What did she do to deserve that?" Jeremy Baxter.

"If she was supposed to, then maybe she did."

3:20 PM

"I don't have any reason to believe she didn't. You could be completely right."

"Then how could she be alive if she killed herself?" The girl.

"She couldn't be. So she must be dead."

"But how could she have told you about this if she's dead?" The girl.

"She must have died after telling me. Did she specify a date or time?"

"...Maybe." She can't remember. "But umm... Why was she supposed to kill herself?" Jeremy.

The girl probably told her to. And she could do the same to us.

3:34 PM

"Sometimes people lose meaning in their life, Jeremy."

"No. Sometimes people torture their daughters for their own cruel reasons." The girl.

"I imagine the reason is often what I said."

"Is this really the kind of thing someone should die over…? I mean, we have social services for a reason." Jeremy.

"Maybe it's not our place to judge, Jeremy."

3:46 PM

My hands are becoming sweaty.

"It’s not! You’re gross and disgusting men!" The girl.

"...yes. But, even if we can't judge, we can help. Right?"

3:53 PM

"We can work under your boot, if that's what you want."

"This is sexism, and I won’t stand for it. In this day and age it’s the men who are the oppressed ones!" Jeremy. She sprays him.

"I'm not with him. I don't know why he's here."

She unties Jeremy. "Throw yourself off the highest building you can."

What?

3:58 PM

"Wait! Wait. He could be useful. He's obviously involved in whatever's happening here, right? He's connected to these events, connected to the Stanleys, even. Don't you want to be able to use him as leverage?"

"I’m making a point." She explains this like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

"What point?"

There's a massive bang outside. The girl rushes to the window to check.

I check to see if Jeremy is wandering off somewhere.

Jeremy leaves.

4:33 PM

"Ms... Lelouch..." She says heartbroken.

Urgh.

4:37 PM

Well, if her orders are literal, I suppose he's headed to the Burj Khalifa by now. It's too late to help at this point, and I'm not even sure if this girl is capable of reversing these things.

"I’ll be back!" She runs out the door.

People throw themselves off of rooves every day. It's not exceptional. It would barely make local news. She's reduced him to nothing.

4:39 PM

I look up distractedly. "Wait!"

4:39 PM

I doubt it gets any response.

It does not.

Whatever.

4:40 PM

There's nothing I could do anyways.

4:41 PM

I try to derail my train of thought, and glance down to see if he left the keychain behind.

He did not.

Of course.

4:43 PM

What else even is there to do? Rub my wrists raw trying to free myself?

4:44 PM

Do the ropes have any give?

EL runs back in. "What the fuck!?"

I haven't felt this miserable in a while.

4:46 PM

"..."

4:46 PM

"Has Johnner fired you yet?"

"Johnner just… Johnner just blew up." EL.

"I can understand why." I'm going to assume she means it metaphorically.

4:51 PM

Although, the timing of it with the noise outside is suspicious.

"I’m impressed." She snaps sarcastically.

"With what?"

"Your deduction skills? What the fuck did you think I meant?"

"Thank you."

"Fuck off."

"If you cut me out of this, I will. You have a knife, don't you?"

"Why would I do that exactly?"

"So I can fuck off."

"You’re not funny."

"I'm not trying to be."

"So you’re just an accidental clown?"

"Are you an intentional one?"

"Pretty much."

I'm getting too caught up in banter.

6:18 PM

"If you untie me, I'll tell you where Jeremy went. Clearly he was at least a little bit useful, or you wouldn't have gone through the trouble of restraining him."

"I have no idea why he was here. And with Johnner gone, we’ll probably never know." She pauses. "Fuck! Why did he have to die?"

Oh, so she did mean it literally.

6:23 PM

"I guess you won't. You don't have many resources. You'll need to find somebody with more."

"I have plenty! The boss is still alive!"

"Who?"

"Spoilers!"

"I don't mind."

6:32 PM

"Life doesn't work like a storybook. Reading ahead is the whole point here." (edited)

"Sorry, but from now on… You’re caught in my storybook."

"And are you the protagonist, or the author?"

"Are you stupid?" She leans in close to Sean. "I'm the main antagonist!"

"It's not really your storybook, then, is it."

"Who could be more important than the villain?"

"The protagonist."

"Nuh-uh! The protagonist is the one always chasing the villain's plots! The story is defined by it's conflicts."

"What a childish way to think. Real people can't be proactive just because it's bad for a book's plot? Maybe you should think harder about what happens to the antagonist at the end of every story."

"That’s the best part." She leans in so close their foreheads touch. "You’re the protagonist, right? So come and kill me. Wash away my sins."

"I'm not the protagonist. I know that, because I'm not the only perspective that matters. Maybe you've lost track of that in your obsession."

She pulls away and starts laughing.

"If you want to fight, we should do it on even grounds. Not with my arms pathetically tied behind my back. Don't you think?"

6:59 PM

"Make it more exciting for the almighty audience."

6:59 PM

I look at her disgustedly.

She keeps laughing.

"Enough!"

She laughs harder.

I wish so badly I could bring my hands up just to cover my ears.

7:04 PM

It's such a sickening laugh.

7:04 PM

But all I can do is stare at the floor.

"That disgust… It’s perfect. When I’m done, the whole world’s gonna look at me like that."

"Nobody who's ever succeeded at that has been trying for it. That's the kind of thing you can only chance into after a life of noble ideals."

7:10 PM

"Nobody will expect great things of you. And so you'll be stuck down here with the rest of them, with nobody to let down or disappoint." (edited)

7:10 PM

"Maybe you'll realize that eventually."

She laughs.

"What's so funny?"

She lifts up his chin and looks at him with some strange manic expression. "I love how much you hate me."

I force my face to have no expression.

She smiles even more.

"..."

"Aaaaaanyway." She turns around.

"What? Are you not interested in that fair fight I mentioned? It's exciting enough for you to just leave me here?"

"Not yet. I haven’t gotten the boss's permission."

"...you're not really the main antagonist, are you?"

7:22 PM

"I think one would be less happy being an extension of somebody else like that."

"…For now."

"You should take your opportunities while you have them. If you can't even muster up some mild disobedience, how do you expect to suddenly spring ahead of him all at once someday?" (edited)

"Because I need more from him. It’s called manipulation."

"You're doing very poorly at it."

"Actually… I don’t do poorly. I do badly." She leaves.

Damn.

7:27 PM

I decompress in my chair and sigh.

((End session))

((I'll make sure to start yelling loudly for Ehn next time))

((No session this week))

((No session this week. But the one after that, surely))

((tempered grief))

((it's possible I'll be mandated overtime this weekend but I'll try to get it for sunday if so. still a question though unfortunately))

((Let me know what the verdict is on that. You do in fact have a session))

((I do have it on Saturday. I'll be available for about thirty minutes at the start of the session and then mostly free after 4 PM EST. If you'd rather reschedule that's fine but I should be able to send messages pretty regularly))

((That's fine))

Carl walked into the room.

"Oh, hello, Carl."

2:09 PM

I sit up slightly, but not too far. (edited)

2:09 PM

"Help me out of this chair."

"Oh, uh… I’m not sure if I’m allowed."

"You are. I allow you."

“But, uh… What about…?"

"It doesn't matter."

"I don’t… I don’t really wanna die, though."

"Then I'll make sure you don't. Johnner threatening you one time doesn't mean he suddenly values your life while you're doing what he wants of you."

"I'm not... Worried about Johnner." Carl paused. "Did she not... Tell you yet?"

"She..."

2:23 PM

"Can you just say what you want to say, Carl?"

2:24 PM

"I don't need a back and forth right now." (edited)

"The big... Boss. At the top of this. Do you know who it is?"

"Are you in contact with them?"

"...Yeah."

2:29 PM

"I mean... He's the boss. Mine. The... Other one. Maoziwam."

"Shuichi isn't your boss, Carl. I'm the one who believes in you."

2:42 PM

"And if you untie me, we can go confront him about that."

"Are you... Sure?"

"Is there a bomb implanted in your head that's set to go off if you assist me? What are you so unsure about?"

"Boss... Did you know that... I'm a good person?"

"Yes, I did remember that."

2:53 PM

"It left an impression on me, in fact."

2:53 PM

((I'll be back in an hour! Sorry about this situation))

"…I got a certificate."

2:54 PM

((See ya))

"...for being a good person? That's... something."

3:50 PM

"Did Shuichi give it to you?"

3:52 PM

"I can print out a certificate too, if you need one to feel good about yourself."

“Oh, no this one… It’s from Carolyn, so it’s… It’s real."

Of course. The Grandmaster, still haunting me through his proxies.

4:02 PM

"No. No, it isn't. Did you actually call the number she gave you? Why would you even need therapy, Carl, if you're such a perfect person already? It's completely irrational."

4:02 PM

"Untie me already!"

"Oh, right." Carl approached. “Do you… Do you think I should quit?"

"Yes! After you untie me."

"…You do?" There’s a gunshot nearby.

"I don't care!"

"Why not…?"

I start straining against the ropes frantically.

Ouroboros walked into the room with a gun.

That must be what happened to it. He has to... have the ability to recall it to himself, or something.

4:32 PM

I struggle slightly less as I look to him. "Whose side are you on, Stanley? Here to take me out?"

"What are you doing here?" Ouroboros. Carl hides behind the chair. Sean can feel him untying it though.

Alright. At worst, I can just delay for however long it might take him to figure out how to untie a knot.

4:35 PM

"Something to do with the mob, I think."

4:35 PM

"Does that ring any bells?"

"It might. Where’s Maoziwam?" Ouroboros.

"Could be in his apartment, I suppose. Why do you think I would know?"

"He’s supposed to be here." Ouroboros. "Oh yeah, uh… I borrowed his car." Carl.

"I'm surprised you two are close enough that he would trust you with that, Carl."

"…He was acting weird." Carl. "Carl…? Carl Tucker?" Ouroboros. "Umm… Present?" Carl. (edited)

Is he still working on the knot?

He is.

They can talk, then.

"You can make the transfer, then." Ouroboros. "Huh?" Carl. "I want King Burger back. For real this time." Ouroboros.

I'm not particularly invested in why Carl would be able to do that.

4:55 PM

"Is there a reason it's taking you so long to get these undone?"

"Oh, uh… Right." Carl finally undoes the rope. "Hurry up and get out of here." Ouroboros.

"Okay. Thank you."

Ouroboros approached Carl.

I stand up and move to the side of the room. Maybe I should stay and watch, but getting Carl to tell me anything that happened should be trivial, and I'm much more concerned about insane people coming back for me. So I walk out. (edited)

5:07 PM

Maybe I can get my bearings, at least.

Ouroboros enters the empty apartment building. No one is around.

Does it look like this place has been abandoned?

Largely.

He looks around. Quietly.

((Roll))

((14))

Ouroboros finds this woman before she has a chance to attack him with a knife.

Hm, okay. What's the situation? Does she see him? Can he sneak around her?

She sees him and is preparing to attack.

He draws his gun and swiftly aims it towards her face. "Don't try."

"Ha." She laughs. "What do you think you’re doing here, you pointless side character?"

"I could ask you that same thing. Still don't have a clue what you stand to gain from attacking me. Haven't you heard that Johnner's dead?"

"Yeah, which means I’m the boss now. Isn’t villainy so rewarding?" She laughs pompously.

"I didn't know it was the boss's job to skulk around abandoned apartment buildings."

"Ha. I’m mysterious and inscrutable. Evil doesn’t follow your understanding!" She dashes forward with her knife.

He jumps backwards and fires a shot at her.

They both miss. EL panics at the gunshot, clutches her head, and runs away.

"...Weirdo." If there's anyone else in this building, they definitely heard that. He takes cover and listens for any other footsteps, or general signs of life.

Ouroboros hears a conversation in a room up ahead.

Can he make out whose voices they are?

It sounds like Sean Niebel.

!!!!!! He goes to that room.

Sean is sitting in a chair, tied to it. There’s another man in the room too, but he isn’t tied up. Sean struggles slightly less against the ropes as he looks to him. "Whose side are you on, Stanley? Here to take me out?"

Does this other man look like a threat?

He looks very pathetic.

He keeps the gun firmly in his grip. "What the hell are you doing here, Sean?"

The pathetic man hides behind the chair. "Something to do with the mob, I think. Does that ring any bells?" Sean.

Yeah yeah. "Where's Maoziwam?"

"Could be in his apartment, I suppose. Why do you think I would know?" Sean.

"That's his car parked outside. I need to talk to him. Directly."

"Oh yeah, uh… I borrowed his car." Pathetic man. "I'm surprised you two are close enough that he would trust you with that, Carl." Sean. "…He was acting weird." Carl, presumably.

"...Carl? As in Carl Tucker?"

"Umm… Present?" Carl.

...Is that it? Is it going to be this easy? Even with Shuichi's dirty laundry being annihilated? "You know what's going on with all this business bullshit, don't you? You can make the transfer."

"Huh?" Carl.

"I want King Burger back."

"Is there a reason it's taking you so long to get these undone?" Sean. "Oh, uh… Right." Carl finally undoes the rope.

"...Now if you don't have any business with me, get out of here."

"Okay. Thank you." Sean.

He looks to Carl and waits for him to say something.

Sean moves to the side of the room and then walks out. "So, uh… Hi." Carl.

He crosses his arms. "You're doing pretty well for yourself in the business world. Am I wrong?"

"Yeah, no… I’m the best, yeah. The coolest."

"That doesn't make sense. Do you own the rights to King Burger or not?"

"Probably? It’s somewhere in there, I guess."

"Okay, great. That's supposed to belong to me, but Sean was feeling spiteful. I need the rights to it back."

"I don’t really wanna go against the boss…"

"...You are the boss. I don't care if Shuichi ranks higher than you. You have control over what you do with your assets."

"No, I mean… Uh, Sean. He’s like the boss. Spiritual… Spirituality-wise. Metaphors."

Why the fuck did Carl have Sean tied up if he doesn't want to go against his orders? "Sean could die tomorrow and nothing about your position would change." (edited)

"It’s… Well… It’s deeper than that. I’m a complex guy, y’know?"

"No you're not. I need my brand back."

"That’s… Well… That’s subjective."

God, what? "Are you going to give it back or not?"

"Not if I’m not supposed to? Professionalism, y’know?"

"You have no reason to-" He groans. "Tell you what: I'll make this as easy for you as possible. I'll take you right to the contract, you sign it, all's done, you never have to think about it again. Not a single shred of skin off your ass."

"…Is, uh… Is the boss gonna be mad?"

10:01 PM

"Either one."

"No. They have no reason to care. Shuichi won't miss the brand and Sean literally just abandoned the subject entirely."

"Well, I mean… I guess, then. Charity work, you know?"

"Yeah." He pats him on the shoulder. "Come on. I'm gonna take you for a drive."

"…Uh. Please don’t touch me. That’s for like… The ladies." He seems intimidated as he walks out of the building.

Sure, whatever. He leads Carl to his car and unlocks the passenger's seat for him. (edited)

Carl gets in the backseat.

Okay. Ouroboros begins driving.

Carl stares out the window silently.

...After a minute or so, he realizes that he doesn't know where the hell he's trying to go. Clearly, the original contract has already been voided. Is he looking for that? What in the world did he do with that? He pulls into some random empty parking lot. "Give me a second. I need to make a call." He dials Raven. (edited)

Raven picks up. "Hello?"

"Hey. Have you seen the news lately?"

"No."

"The contract fell through. I need another made, and I need some guys as a witness to its signing."

"And who’s the signer we should bring in?"

"Don't worry about that. I have him with me right now."

"I see. Meet me where we first met. I’ll have a fresh contract for you."

"I'll be right there."

"See you soon, Mr Soniaquill." Raven hangs up.

He puts his phone away, and drives to that original building.

"So uh… You find the place?" Carl.

"We're on our way right now."

"So yes?"

"It's a fifteen minute drive. We'll be there soon."

"Not really, a like… Direct answer. Maybe you’re lying, I dunno…"

He looks over his shoulder at Carl. "We're going to the place. Because I know where the place is."

"Well, I mean… Okay."

"Yes. Okay." He continues driving.

"Yeah." Carl. They arrive at the building.

"Follow me." He gets out of his car and enters the building.

He mumbles something vaguely rebellious but follows. Raven is indeed in the room. He holds out a contract for Ouroboros.

He takes it and looks it over carefully to make sure it's correct and airtight.

It seems good.

"Alright, Carl." He holds the contract out for him. "Just need you to sign your name at the bottom of this thing, and everything's settled."

"And uh… Who’s he?" Carl points at Raven. "A professional." Raven. "Oh, uh… Yeah. Me too." Carl. "What?" Raven.

"...He's in the business, Carl. He's good at getting things done."

"That’s kind of ominous, you know?" Carl. "Yes, it is." Raven. "Huh? Ohhh… Wait, I get it. Am I being intimidated?" Carl. "Yes." Raven. "Oh." Carl.

Ouroboros crosses his arms. "I, personally, don't care how intimidated or unintimidated you feel. All I need is your signature, and you can forget about all of this." (edited)

"Yeah, I mean… Me neither. I’m not scared. You know what you should be scared of? Women." Carl.

"What?"

"They’re like… They’re sneaky, y’know? It’s an epidemic, apparently. That’s what I hear. Not that I… I mean, I’m a smart guy, y’know? I like… I can’t get betrayed. Because I like thought about it ahead and betrayed them first by realizing they’d betray me and abandon me. So it’s like… I’m the victim, but in a way where I don’t get owned. You feel me?" Carl.

He slaps Carl.

((Roll))

((Three.))

It’s a weak slap. "H-Hey, what the hell!?" Carl. (edited)

"Dude, what the fuck are you going on about? Literally all I need out of you is your name on a piece of paper. We haven't so much as been in the presence of a woman together once."

"Are you like… Coming onto me? Is the slapping like a… A flirting thing with you, uh… Darker types? I mean, like… It’s cool… Like I know I’m hot, but like… I’m one of those- I’m like old fashioned y’know? Yeah. Yeah… Y’know, into girls. Women. Woman. I have a wife. Presently. That’s a fact about me." Carl.

Ouroboros blinks. "Do you have anything to say about this, Raven? Do you, uh... agree that women are out to get him, in spite of how much he loves them?"

Raven looks genuinely dumbfounded that he’s being dragged into this. "I mean, uh… It’s possible. That from this description. Those are indeed the events that are happening. And this rich millionaire is frequently victimized by women. Despite uh… Whatever it was that he said." "Yeah, see you get it." Carl. "Sign the contract. And… Umm… Perhaps I can assist with that. Professionally." Raven. "Oh, damn… So you double as a divorce lawyer too? Not that I… Yeah. Not that I need one of those. Very active bedroom, as the kids are saying. Yeah. Yeah. Y’know… Yeah. That’s… Uh… Yeah, y’know? Yeah… Yeah." Carl.

...Right. "Hey. Carl."

"Yeah?" Carl.

"I don't know if you read that contract too closely, but if you sign your name on it, it'll also make it illegal for any guy to flirt with you ever again." (edited)

"Well... I dunno that I... It's nice to feel wanted, y'know? Haha..." He signs it.

"Great. Glad that's settled." He double-checks that Carl signed it correctly.

He hasn't fucked this part up, at least.

"I'll be taking my leave now, then." His eyes drift to Raven.

Raven nods.

He leaves, and gets back in his car. He doesn't particularly care if Carl has a ride out of here.

They don't stop him.

He puts the contract in the glovebox, the key in the ignition, then puts his hands on the wheel. He has won. Definitively. There is no longer anything that stands in the way of King Burger and success for the rest of time. He texts the manager, letting him know that he has the rights back, and everyone should begin working again as soon as possible.

The manager replies with a thumbs up emoji.

Then it's done. ...He sends him a photo of the contract, for good measure. Just in case he can't find it later. And then, he turns his phone off. "Ehn."

No response.

That's okay. "Ehn. I need to talk to you."

No response.

He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms.

"You're lucky I bothered caring about this subplot. What is it?" Ehn jumps into the car.

"The subplot you started in the first place?" He looks at her. "I just won. Isn't that exciting?"

"Winning’s the boring inevitable part, don’t you think?"

"Inevitable indeed. I fought tooth and nail to get the rights to my franchise back, but ultimately, it's happenstance that sealed the deal. Isn't that funny?"

"Haven’t you heard? Luck isn’t real. It’s all just me. So you’re welcome, really."

"I haven't heard, actually. But that was incredibly obvious anyway. I'm glad I finally know for sure where your allegiance lays."

"My allegiances lay with what makes this as interesting as possible."

"Is that so? Then tell me, please. What part of this whole ordeal did you find interesting?"

Ehn just smiles.

He sighs, and looks away, staring vacantly through the windshield. "That's what I thought. You're not done with me yet. If your goal here is to weave an interesting story, then you've failed — rather, you haven't succeeded yet. You talk about the end being boring, but the journey was no more enthralling. I have effectively been manipulated into doing nothing with my time, as I always have before."

"You ruined Shuichi’s schemes, isn’t that worth it?"

"Yeah. I made him blow up his own mall, then lost the only reason I had to go after him before I could get anything done with that. Good job, me. You're a real big deal."

"You seriously think he blew up the mall? And that he’d do this because of you?" Ehn laughs mockingly. "You’re so much dumber than you think."

He shrugs, still not looking at her. "It's the only logical conclusion. If you want to say none of that's true, then great. I don't care, and you're only proving my point further."

"Right." She laughs again. "And what point would that be?"

"That you have something to prove. You fucking hate me, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"You and I, Ehn, we're two sides of the same coin. Eternal rivals. The faces you'd see if you pulled back the curtain. But you found me before I found you, and because of that, you thought you had the opportunity to send a message. That all is futile. My thoughts, my innovations; you think they're threatening, and so you want to discredit them."

"Is this a joke!? I’m a god! I’ve got nothing to prove, especially not to you!"

"I thought that too. That you had nothing to prove. It didn't make sense. But at the same time, it's the only thing that makes sense, if you consider everything that's happened up to this point. Why would Sean steal back the rights to King Burger, then act like he doesn't care when I get them back a day later? What was the point of any of that? It's obvious. You hate me. You want to make me suffer. You want to make it seem like all that I have gifted to this world is a product of blind luck, and anything would've led to the same outcome anyway."

Ehn looks at him angrily. "You make me sound like the same sort of nihilist as him. I’m better than that."

"But that's the thing! You're not. You literally are not. You think you stand on a pedestal while everything else shares the same static tier below you. That's why you saw me as a threat. If I was allowed to make waves, this would've destroyed you. You literally cannot fathom someone else being on your level."

"You really think some CEO's on the level of a god!? You were created for my amusement."

"Oh, you wish you could say that so badly. But if things were that simple, you'd have nothing to prove. Isn't that right? None of this story would have been necessary. But — but! — the story's not over yet, is it?" (edited)

"…"

"You know just as well as I do how valuable of a tool lying can be. Weaving narratives. If you can manipulate how people see you, and how they see the world, then it becomes immutable fact. The people below don't need to know they're eating horse meat. It's a win-win for consumer and marketer."

"Horse meat was not a metaphor for that."

"You're right! It's not a metaphor. It's what is. It happened. And you think that's terrifying! But you want to know how you discredit someone who's right? You go after their character. That's what you were planning all along."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You mentioned something about a favour a while ago, right? Barely passed my ears. You, the little manipulator that you are, want to make me kill my family."

"Bit of a jump, don’t you think?"

"No, not at all." He shakes his head and shrugs again. "You know what an ironic end to the man brave enough to call out Sean Niebel would be? Getting arrested for murder. You know how to make it seem like he never had anything of value to offer the world? If it was his own kin he targeted. And what's a favour you need a gun to accomplish? That's right. Murder."

"Maybe I just wanted you to rob a convenience store."

"Nope. That's mediocre enough of a crime that I'd have unironic defenders. Who'd want to associate with with someone who massacred his family, though? You want no trace of me left. No trace of my legacy. You want to make it seem like, you know... that everything turning out the way it did is my fault. Like I'd failed my children, and the rest of Avengard."

"I really don’t care about you that much."

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to take that at face value? I'm not going to let you manipulate me, Ehn. I'm not going to let you make it seem like the death of my family is my fault."

"Who’d be at fault doesn’t really matter, does it? If you want to blame god for everything, you can start by thanking me you were born."

"More manipulation! I thought you'd at least put up a fight. But this is it, Ehn. We're done. I'm going to forge my own path from here on out." (edited)

"Confident much?"

"Very. You want to make it seem like I don't have a choice? Good luck stopping me from pulling the trigger with my own hands." He takes out his phone, texting this to his children and wife in the same group chat: "got king burger back, for real. party at my place. whole family's invited"

Ehn looks dumbfounded.

He begins driving home.

"Is this like a bait and switch thing?" Ehn.

"I've said what I have to say. Funny. You usually would've fucked off by now."

"…" Ehn grimaces. Ouroboros arrives home.

He gets out of his car, checking the group chat.

The Ijiraq responded 'omw'. Harry has read the message. No one else seems to have.

He goes inside, then.

Maria Sr is watching the news about the mall inside. "Please don’t tell me this was you."

"Nope. You have Shuichi Maoziwam to thank for that one." He sits down on the couch. "You get my text?"

"Was it an apology?"

"See for yourself."

"I’d rather hear it from your shameless mouth."

He looks at her emotionlessly.

"What did you do to my daughter earlier? She wouldn’t tell me."

"Maria's still home, is she?"

"She’s in her room."

"Great, that's two out of five here already. One on his way."

"5?"

"If you read the text, Maria, you'd know what I was talking about." He rolls his eyes.

"You know Sarah can’t come, right? She’s in prison."

He shrugs. "Two out of four, then."

"Certainly seeing the love at work here…" She sighed.

He watches the news for a little bit longer before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

The front door opens.

He looks to see who it is as he grabs a couple bags of chips from the cupboards.

It’s Harry.

"Hello, Harry." He pours each of the chip bags into particularly large bowls.

"Don’t make me regret this."

"I'm trying to be earnest here." He grabs whatever two-litre of soda is there in the fridge. "We got the brand back. That's worth celebrating."

"Didn’t you already have it?"

"Well, yeah, but a little something-something came up. Stupid legal technicality. But that doesn't matter anymore. It's been dealt with. And, y'know... even if that complication never happened, I'd say it's still worth celebrating getting the brand back."

"You didn’t celebrate with us last time."

His brow furrows. "What?" (edited)

"When you were opening it up. Sarah was the one to tell me."

"Well, yeah, you had my number blocked."

"Sarah didn’t, but you were still surprised she knew." He sighed. "Regardless, I don’t really care about your motives for showing off this time. I just wanted you to see that I’m smarter than you."

"Fair enough, I guess." He goes back to spreading snacks out on the table.

Finally, The Ijiraq arrives.

"Hey, what's up?" He arranges a couple stacks of paper cups. (edited)

He walks forward with his crutches. "Hey, dad! You did it!!!"

"Yup! All's said and done now." He smiles.

The Ijiraq eats some chips.

"...Hey, do you mind fetching your sister? She's probably upstairs."

"Upstairs? I mean it’s kind of uh… Y’know…" The Ijiraq motions to his crutches.

"You can still get up stairs with those things, can't you?"

"Not really?" The Ijiraq. Harry pats his brother on the shoulder. "I’ll go get her."

"Alright. Thanks, Harry." He plays some upbeat music on the TV.

Harry heads upstairs. "So, dad… Did you like… Avenge me?" The Ijiraq.

"...Yeah. You remember the suit guy in the alleyway? Jeff Johnner?"

"Yeah?"

"He's dead."

"Oh. Uh… Sick?"

He shrugs. "I mean, I'm not responsible for it. But we're safe now."

The Ijiraq nods a few times. "But did you like… Do anything then?"

"...I hid until he was dead. And then he died. And now we're safe. Vengeance!"

"But like… You were at least sad, right? That I got hurt?"

"Of course it sucked to see you hurt. You're my fucking guy, you know?"

"Yeah… I am?" He smiles. Harry returns with Maria. Maria doesn’t look at Ouroboros.

"...Hello, Maria. How have you been holding up?"

"…" Maria.

"...I'm sorry. I know life sucks sometimes. But I got the brand back!"

"…Yay." She muttered.

"Yeah! Yay!"

"Yay!" The Ijiraq is very loud. Maria Sr and Harry both cover their ears.

"...Excellent. Well, the gang's all back together now, eh?"

"It sure seems like it." Maria Sr facepalms.

"Something the matter?"

"You know what is." Maria Sr replied bitterly.

"...I don't, actually."

"I asked you for one thing, and yet here we are." Maria Sr.

"...Maria." He gestured to the others in the room, looking at her. "I couldn't have been more right. Look at us! The brand brought us back together!"

She just rolls her eyes.

"Hey, if you have an actual argument to make, now's the time. But don't tell me you don't believe what your own eyes are seeing right now. You're the only one arguing that reviving the brand was a mistake."

"Kill yourself, Ouroboros." Maria Sr snaps. The Ijiraq scratches his head. Harry sighs. "I'm leaving."

Ouroboros raises his hands. "Still not hearing anything! I'm glad we all agree that this was a good idea."

Harry walks to the front door.

"...Hey, c'mon, Harry." He tilts his head at him. "Just another minute of your time. No need to leave the party so soon. I promise. No more arguing. None of that. It's over. Not trying to instigate anything. I've already proven everything I need to."

"This is exactly the problem, dad. Everything always has to dance to your tune, doesn't it? You always have to feel like you've won even when everyone in the world knows what a fucking piece of shit you are. I hate playing this game." Harry.

"You think so?" He purses his lips. "...Whatever. My other son knows what's up. How about it?" He looks to The Ijiraq.

"Uh... What? What am I supposed to say?" The Ijiraq. "Your other son? He has a name. And we don't exist in competition with each other. Stop trying to play this game. If you want me to stay, I want an apology. No one wants to watch you keep jerking off your ego because you fucked your family up too much for them to know how to argue with you." Harry.

Ouroboros is silent. "Well, Ijiraq. Can I get you to answer a question?"

"Yeah, dad! Anything!" The Ijiraq. "Here we go again, just ignore me. Ignore everything that disagrees with you. But even if you were right about everything ever somehow... That wouldn't give you the right to be such a fucking asshole." Harry.

"Have you ever noticed that all Italian food is exactly the same?"

"Whuh?" The Ijiraq. "What?" Harry. "What the hell?" Maria Sr. "..." Maria Jr's expression twisted into shock.

"..." Ouroboros unholsters his gun and shoots The Ijiraq in the head.

Harry is the first to react. He rushes at Ouroboros to try to disarm him.

He swiftly reaims, gunning for Harry's center when he fires again. (edited)

((Roll))

((9))

Ouroboros misses. Harry takes the gun and moves away. He's sweating intensely. "What the fuck, dad...?" Maria Sr finally reacts by running out of the room.

He lunges for Harry and attempts to take the gun back.

((Roll))

((4))

Harry keeps the gun he aims it at his father. "Dad... Calm the fuck down or I will shoot you."

"...Okay." He grabs the holster, and shoots the retrieved pistol at Harry.

((Roll))

((7))

It misses. "Wh- Huh?"

He fires again. He's aiming for his head.

((Roll))

((7))

Harry crumples to the ground, dead. Maria Jr pulls the holster off from Ouroboros and runs into the dining room.

"..." He follows after her and attempts to take the holster back.

Maria Jr crawls under the table. Maria Sr swings a chair wildly from across the table. "Stay away! Both of you!"

He dashes back, attempting to avoid the chair, and aims the gun at his wife.

The gun disappears from his hands.

...damnit. What is Maria Jr. doing? He asks this to himself, but also glances under the table to check.

Maria Jr is holding the gun with shaky hands. Maria Sr also notices this. "Shoot him! Come on! Save your family!"

He doesn't say or do anything.

"I-I-I-I-I... I don't want... I don't want... I don't want... Hurt anyone... Hurt- Ah... Ahhhh..." Maria Jr. is hyperventilating. "Make a choice you stupid child! If you don't make your own choices, someone like your father will always make a worse one for you! Don't waste my life like this!" Maria Sr.

He doesn't say or do anything.

Maria Jr just lets out an ear-splitting scream and starts crying, dropping the gun and holster at her feet.

...Hm. He picks the gun up, aims it at his wife, and fires.

((Roll))

((15))

The bullet kills Maria Sr. Maria Jr stares at the body in horror.

He aims the gun at Maria Jr.

She stays there, trembling.

"Maria. Listen to me."

"..."

"I don't care what you think of me now, having just witnessed me doing that. It's probably not the easiest thing to process. That's fine. I just need you to promise me that, no matter where you go from here, you do not stop moving your legs. Take this trauma and run with it. Don't stop moving. Never stop moving your legs. You are not allowed to stop pushing forward."

"…?" She stares into his eyes, crying.

"These memories are yours to keep. Hold them in your head for as long as you need. Let them push you around. It doesn't matter where they take you, as long as you never stop moving. Okay?"

"…" She covers her eyes.

He gently kicks the holster back to her. "You can take this with you. Just don't use it for a little bit. I'll need the gun for a little while longer. But... assuming you don't want to be interrogated by the police, you should at least get out of this house."

"…"

He lowers the gun, leaves the kitchen, and sits down on the couch.

Blood pools at his feet.

...Hah. Fuck. He dials Raven.

Raven picks up. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's me. Just need two last things from your guys, and you'll never hear from me again."

"What is it?"

"First of all: got a daughter in prison. Her name's Sarah Stanley. I'm asking you to kill her."

"You want us to kill your own daughter?" He sounds hesitant.

"Yes."

"I… Suppose we can make that happen. Any reason why? No… Sorry. I understand. We’ll get on it."

"Okay, thanks. The other thing: I'm probably going to get arrested soon. As soon as I've got my permanent cell, I'd like you to smuggle in a phone and charger. Preferably my own, but I understand if you can't get your hands on them."

"Understood. But as you said, this is our last conversation. Goodbye, Mr. Stanley." He hangs up.

So it is. ...He texts the manager of the new King Burger: "hey. i'm going to totally sever my name from the brand now. i'm giving all rights to King Burger to you. you also own the building now. King Burger as in the restaurant that i founded and sold and now own again in case any of the fuckers in the Maoziwam legal team try 2 snake their way around this or something. This is a legally binding text" (edited)

He replies with a thumbs up.

He puts his phone away and watches the news. (edited)

"Really? You’re letting her of all people survive? She’s the most boring one." Ehn appears behind Ouroboros.

He watches the news.

"You let me keep that favour, remember? You still owe me. I’m not gonna let some pathetic baby walk out of here as the sole survivor." Ehn.

"No takebacksies."

"Ouroboros." Ehn smiles, whispering into his ear. "I’ve come to call in that favour. Kill Maria Stanley Jr." Ouroboros is magically compelled to do this now.

So he is.

Maria is still under the table.

...He stands up, moves to the kitchen, takes a knife out of the drawer, and looks at Maria. "I told you to run, didn't I?"

She tries to stand up and hits her head against the table, before scrambling out from under the table and backing up against the wall. She’s not holding anything anymore.

He approaches her, holding the knife up.

The Ijiraq tackles Ouroboros into the table. What? Oh, I forgot to precise his death. I guess he survived that wound then. This is probably more convenient than what I had in mind. He can have this one, I suppose. "Maria… Run! And put my name on the company, 'kay!?" The Ijiraq is heavily bleeding as he speaks.

Ouroboros flails his arm limply in Maria's general direction.

The one and only Maria Stanley runs out of the house.

"...She's a tough nut to crack, huh?"

"Did I… Win, dad?" The Ijiraq slips off his father limply and falls to the floor.

"...Thank you, Peyton." He does not feel particularly compelled to move.

"…" The Ijiraq makes a strange expression as he bleeds to death.

"..." Ouroboros stands up and continues watching the news. This is a nice neighborhood. Surely there must be something about people hearing gunshots by now.

"Why is she escaping? I called in that favour! Put that little bitch out of her misery!" Ehn is seething, but she seems to have forgotten her role. The only god here is me. Ehn decides to leave the house, because I said so. A cop barges in, gun in hand.

You know, if Ouroboros could read that, he'd probably be popping off right now. He raises his hands. "I'll come along."

"Drop the weapon."

Oh, was he still carrying that? He drops the knife.

"Turn around."

He obeys.

The officer grabs Ouroboros’s hands and cuffs them from behind.

He doesn't fight this.

The officer leads him out of the house, as more police cars pull into the street.

He looks at them wordlessly.

Ouroboros is placed in the back of a police car as they read him his rights.

He listens carefully.

They drive him to the police station.

Naturally.

Ouroboros is placed in a holding cell.

He sits.

Sean is in a building near the Avengard mall. However, instead of the mall that would usually be there, there’s just a crater.

Well.

5:21 PM

Hm.

5:21 PM

Are there any signs of how recent this might have been? Any smoke? Any gathered people, news reporters?

The police have certainly gathered around it.

Oh, the police.

5:24 PM

I really have no idea how involved local law enforcement might be with the mob, but they probably wouldn't do much out in public. And I still have... the...

5:24 PM

I check to see if I still have anything on me.

Sean does not have anything on him.

"Ehn!" I shout, hoping for a response.

((To be clear you are still in the building))

((yeah))

5:33 PM

((is there something wrong with that?))

"There you are!" EL pounces onto him.

Damn it.

5:35 PM

I lash out with an elbow, hopefully landing somewhere around her face or neck.

((Roll))

((10))

It clearly hurts, but not enough. EL positions her knife to Sean's throat.

I jerk my hands up to cover my neck, facing outwards.

"Any last words?"

I should have waited until I was further away. I wasn't thinking. If I die here, what's left? Saying my last words to somebody who might as well not exist, by her own admission? I wouldn't make it into an online listicle with that. It's disgusting. But I shouldn't be thinking about this, should I?

5:47 PM

I'm probably heavier than her. I fall back, trying to topple us both.

((Roll))

((4))

The momentum of the fall causes the knife to swing directly towards Sean's neck, until EL pulls it away from him in a panic.

"Not willing to follow through, are you?" I take the opportunity to try and wrest the knife from her hand.

5:58 PM

((6))

This fails. "…I need you alive." She bites her lip. "I’ll make you a deal."

"Okay. I'm open to deals."

5:59 PM

I step back.

6:00 PM

"Why pretend to go for my life?"

"Come back tomorrow. To Shuichi Maoziwam’s apartment. That’s where you’re needed. If you do that… I’ll let you go."

"Do you mean that you'll let me go right now, or is the deal that you'll leave me alone in the future?"

"I’ll let you go right now."

That's not much of a deal. It's essentially just offering me a single day of freedom in exchange for... nothing? I don't really understand. Obviously if I refuse, and... submit myself to capture, or whatever it is she's imagining here, I'll end up where she wants anyways. It's all pointless.

6:07 PM

"I can go along with that."

"10AM tomorrow." She gets up off him. "You’ll get what you want too."

"What do I want?"

"Spoilers." She smirks. "But don’t go painting me as the merciful type. The last thing you want is to make me have to correct that."

"You had a knife to my throat. I offered no meaningful resistance, and no words to convince you of anything. That's not mercy, that's giving up."

6:12 PM

"You said you need me alive. I'll try to keep it that way."

"Maybe I’m just bored." She shrugged and walked back further into the building. (edited)

"You seem to live a very exciting and self-centered life, so I doubt it. Boredom is something given to people with actual aspirations."

6:14 PM

"I'll see you at 10."

6:14 PM

I look back to the crater.

6:15 PM

After a few seconds, I look back. Is she gone?

She's gone.

Perfect. Perfect.

6:19 PM

To be honest, having a meeting scheduled with somebody so disgustingly self-absorbed reminds me of my time in business, in a weird way. A mostly unpleasant way.

6:20 PM

I try to shout for Ehn again. For some reason, I can't get the word out.

6:21 PM

I try a few more times, my chest hurting unpleasantly before I can say it. At that point, I give up and head over to the police presence. Maybe I can get something out of them.

6:22 PM

Do any of the officers look competent?

Somewhat.

I approach the one that fits the description the most. "What happened here?"

"There was a bombing."

Does the rubble fit that explanation?

Yes.

"Any motive?"

"We don't know yet."

"Any suspects? Any evidence? Anything? Is there anything in your head at all? Just standing around here, hoping you become the miraculous detective who solves the case and achieves worldwide renown?" I scowl at them, then walk away.

6:31 PM

I need a phone.

"Oh, I'm just an offi- Okay then..."

The mall would have been helpful for buying one.

6:31 PM

If I had money, that is.

6:31 PM

If I had anything.

6:32 PM

I'm in a communication desert, at the moment. Nothing around me. Nothing to check. Nothing to do. Nobody to talk to.

6:32 PM

I sigh, and head back to where Carl and Ouroboros were.

They're both gone.

Aghhhhhhh.

6:40 PM

I exit the building and circle it, looking for anything that might feasibly be Shuichi's car.

Sean successfully finds Shuichi's car.

Is there anybody in or around it?

No one.

I check if it's unlocked.

The doors are unlocked.

Maybe there's something useful inside. I thoroughly search the compartments.

The car alarm starts blaring annoyingly. Sean finds about 100$ in cash, a loaded handgun, and an old flipphone.

Wow. This is more than I could have hoped for, really. Although the reason why the car alarm went off eludes me, it's probably not best to be discovered near here with a large police unit directly around the corner, so I head back inside quickly. (edited)

6:46 PM

Is this the type of flip phone with email capability?

It can only make phone calls.

I call Carl.

Carl picks up. "Oh, uh- Hello-?" The call ends.

I call again.

He doesn't answer.

I... try to see if I can remember the number Ouroboros sent me a while back. How long has it even been? Days? Weeks? Irregardless, I dial what I think I was given. (edited)

No response.

Well, I guess this is relatively pointless. But I try Shuichi's number anyways. (edited)

7:11 PM

((I would know his number, right? Or no))

7:11 PM

((maybe not)) (edited)

((I think you don't))

((sad))

7:12 PM

Well, I guess this is completely pointless.

7:12 PM

Did I see any other cars on my circle of the building?

None.

It's likely Ouroboros left with Carl in his own car, or however he got here.

7:13 PM

I could... hm.

7:13 PM

I don't know what I could do in one day.

7:15 PM

Maybe I should just count my blessings and get a bed for the night.

7:16 PM

I wander out of the building in no particular direction and check if there are any motels within eyesight.

7:16 PM

((is the mall close to a road of some sort))

((Yeah this is a city there's roads everywhere))

7:17 PM

Sean eventually arrives at a hotel.

I pay for one night in cash, keeping conversation with the person at the desk to a minimum, but asking for a wakeup call at 7 AM.

They agree.

Do I have enough money left to pay for a taxi tomorrow?

Just barely enough.

Good.

7:27 PM

I undress and go to bed, trying to keep my mind empty. This isn't ideal, but it's the best I can do.

7:28 PM

Tomorrow might be another day empty of value. But it might not. I have no guesses for what the murderous psychopath is making deals based on.

7:28 PM

I guess that's what makes someone a psychopath to begin with.

7:29 PM

Sleep.

((End chapter))

Shawn and Lillian are led down to a prison transport truck.

Shawn is dejected

They’re loaded into the back of the truck. A guard sits with them.

Shawn felt like a leftover piece of trash on the shores of a beach, being gently pulled and pushed by the waves. There was no reason for him to care about anything anymore. Kite is dead, the whole reason he started heroing in the first place is gone. The minute that Kite died, any glory that was in what he did evaporated. All that was left is pain and regret and unfufilled promises

2:19 PM

Is this justice? Is what's about to happen to me deserving for what I've done? Or is this a contortion of justice, the selfish using the selfless as a scapegoat to get what they want? I don't know. (edited)

2:21 PM

The only thing I've ever wanted to do is help people. I wanted to feel useful, to someone. Especially someone I loved. But I suppose that I'm not deserving of that. Perhaps I ask too much of the world.

The truck starts to drive. Lillian smiles. "…You wanted to know about his old bro, right?"

"I did."

"He’s gone. That’s why he accepted you. You were a half-assed replacement."

"Who was he?"

"He was one of us. That’s why I killed him. But he hated Ray soooo much… That’s why he told FB to make sure we never told him the truth. To make sure he was never happy." Lillian leans forward, as if inviting him to hit her.

Shawn stares straight ahead, his face stoic yet despondent "You sure he wasn't saving Kite from your cult?"

"In what world is abandoning someone saving them?"

"In what world is killing someone saving them?"

"The real one!"

"Why'd you kill him if he was so helpful to your cause of making children miserable?"

"We only keep people around for as long as they want to be here. He wanted to end on a high note, instead of forever babysitting that awful brat. We’re all so happy to know he’s died miserable now."

"..."

2:45 PM

"I don't believe your stupid religion. It's the worst type of suicide cult nonsense. But I was there when Kite died. He had just defeated his greatest adversary yet, and was on top of the world. He died with a greater high then you'll ever get."

“Is that all you have left? Obvious lies? You don’t even have the strength to hit me? No wonder you stuck by such a horrible brat for so long."

"I've got nothing to prove to you. You're just confirming to me things that I already thought."

2:50 PM

"That you and your whole organization are just a bunch of petty assholes who have nothing better to do then destroy the lives of children and pat themselves on the back for it."

"Look who’s talking." Gunshot.

Shawn is startled

The truck pulls to a stop. "Sounds like he did come for me." Lillian. (edited)

he tries to cover his ears but his hands are still cuffed (edited)

2:52 PM

"What was his name? Kite's bro?"

Lillian smirked instead of an answer. "I’ll go check it out. You watch the prisoners." The cop in front said this before audibly running away.

I guess this might be where I die. Theyll open the door and free Lillian, and shoot me.

2:56 PM

Can't have loose ends.

2:56 PM

I'm so tired of this constant movement.

Another gunshot rings out.

"Why do that to Kite? What did he do to you?"

3:00 PM

"And who the hell is FB?"

The guard nervously opens the door to check outside. The second the door was unlocked, Lillian pounced onto the guard and wrapped the handcuffs around his throat, pulling as hard as she could.

"Hey! Get off of him!"

3:03 PM

Shawn steps towards them, but is apprehensive. There's someone shooting people around here, and Shawn doesn't want to get shot.

The guard tries to reach for his gun, until his neck makes a crack noise. His arm goes limp.

Shawn goes quiet

She grabs the keys and gun, before kicking the body towards Shawn. "That could’ve been you so many times over."

"..."

She unlocked her handcuffs and stepped out of the truck. "Oh, and just so you know… I made all of that up to mess with you. It’s not exactly surprising that someone like you is so gullible."

Shawn remains silent, his face still dejected.

"I win. Remember that."

"If you're so happy right now, why not just kill yourself?"

She narrows her eyes. "I don’t remember saying anything like that." She shut the door, as another gunshot rang out. This time, Shawn was able to tell that the gunshots were a long ways away. No one had actually come for Lillian.

She convinced herself someone was coming for her so hard that she ended up escaping on her own. It's kind of hilarious, actually

3:14 PM

The power of belief, I suppose

"I’ll leave you with some truth, though." Lillian spoke mockingly as she locked the door from the outside. "That man’s name you keep wanting to know."

"Yeah?"

Shawn heard the sound of keys falling. "Josh Maoziwam." And then she could be heard walking away.

...

3:20 PM

Josh Maoziwam? The guy who... The one in the car crash? The son of the mob boss? Lelouch's brother??? Is that why.... he hated her so much? That's almost... that's so... Shawn goes silent. He is unsure what to say or what to think, nor does he know what this means for Kite, or for him, or for Maoziwam.

3:21 PM

He has nothing to say to Lillian. He's been left here, abandoned, all to dwell on the lives of dead men.

The outside was silent for a while, until light footsteps approached the truck and the keys outside were moved.

"Hello?"

The footsteps moved to the front and began to drive away.

"Hello? Who is this? Who are you?"

No response. The truck just kept moving, long past what it should take to get to the prison.

Shit. I'm being kidnapped

3:24 PM

I guess it comes full circle.

((Roll))

((17))

3:27 PM

((Wtf is happening))

It’s faint, but Shawn makes out the sounds of crying from the front.

"Hey, are... Are you okay?"

No response.

What the hell is going on?!?

3:32 PM

Shawn tries to look out the windows to see if he can tell where they are

There are no windows.

Damnit

3:35 PM

"What's going on? Who are you?"

The truck just keeps driving for hours.

((Hours!??!))

The crying person, whoever they were, wasn't going to respond. That much was certain. Who was it? Maybe it was Lillian, who realized that no one had come for her and decided to take Shawn far away so she could torture him. Maybe it was the mafia, coming to keep him quiet about Shuichi Maoziwam. Lelouch and her cronies, maybe? Or it could be Maria Stanley, coming after him for not saving her. Shawn didn't really know. There are a lot of people after him. I suppose I've made myself a lot of enemies

Shawn leans his head against the wall of the truck. Before he lived in Avengard, he lived in the midwest, right near Toledo, Ohio. But in the summers, he and his parents would go on vacations to areas along Lake Michigan, to the east. The drives to those beach houses were long and boring, and after a few years, Shawn learned to occupy himself by pressing his head against the side window and feeling the vibrations of the car as it drove down the road. This moment reminded Shawn of that

4:03 PM

It made Shawn think of his parents. He wonders how they're doing. If they've heard the news about what happened, about what he's done, about where he is. My parents never really made time for me. I got what I needed to get by everyday but... I guess they never cared about doing more then that. It feels weird to know that they know the things I've kept from them. Because on one hand, I'm desperate to hide it again, to go back and keep them out of the loop forever, to not judge me as insane. On the other hand, imagining the look of shock and horror on their face as they read their sunday newspapers almost makes me happy. It's as if I'm telling them "Look at me! You didn't see me before, but you can't look away now! You did this! This was the only way I could have gotten your attention, and now I have it!"

4:07 PM

Then again, they didn't do this. I did this, didn't I? Our states are determined by the sum of our actions and nothing more. I'm sitting here, miserable and alone, because I didn't do anything to prevent myself from getting here.

4:09 PM

That's what I want to believe, anyway. I'm fighting the Edlightment, with their whole universe-is-unfair-nihilistic-death-cult schtic. So natrually, I must adopt the opposite philosophy. Life is whatever you make it.

4:10 PM

But the sad, sad flaw within this philosophy is that we're all idiots. None of us know what makes us happy, and none of us know what the best choice is to make. What right do I have to judge others for their bad choices, when I am just as stupid as them?

4:11 PM

I guess that's what makes the world unfair. None of us can know what the right choice was until it's too late for us.

4:12 PM

Doesn't make me any less blameless, though. Just because I'm a moron doesn't mean I'm not responsible for my actions. I've done so much terrible shit. People are dead because of my inaction, and my action. Can I really say I've made a positive impact on the world?

4:15 PM

Kite was happy. Lillian said that she and her goons tried their best to make him as unhappy as possible, but they failed. I think I made Kite happy.

4:16 PM

I'm content with that, in a way. That even though I am a failure and I couldn't do anything for anyone, there was one person who I did truly make happy, at least for a second.

4:16 PM

But he's gone.

4:16 PM

God, he's gone. He's gone and he's not coming back.

4:18 PM

I keep expecting him to be with me. Whenever Lillian says something stupid I keep expecting him to butt in and say something weird and cutting that totally throws her off her game.

4:22 PM

I've never lost anyone before. I don't know how to handle it. But I assume that it doesn't become easier. To love someone, to truly truly love someone, is to make them part of your heart. They live inside of you, a constant part of your life that you eventually find impossible to live without. So, in that sense, when someone dies, that part of you dies as well. That's what grief is. It's the ever-present reminder of the part of ourselves that's gone, the person who we were and will never be again.

4:22 PM

When Kite died, Shawn Duveldt died too. But I don't know who I am if I'm not him.

4:26 PM

How does one live with this emptiness? Death might be preferable to this aloneness. I know I've thought a lot about that. But... people do continue to exist. I guess they find some reason to. Howard has his justice. Lelouch has her ideals. Kite had his fantasy.

4:28 PM

I don't have anything, though. In a way, all of this happened just because I wanted to change myself, to become a happier person. I wanted something to strive for. And now, look where I am. So, would finding something new to strive for even be worth it?

4:32 PM

Well, what did I strive for before? I said I did what I did for justice, and maybe I believed it, but that feels like a lie now. It just kinda feels like attention-seeking now. I was desperate to feel useful, to feel like I meant something to anyone.

4:33 PM

I just wanted someone to look at me and tell me that I was doing good.

4:38 PM

That I wasn't some interchangeable nobody who meant nothing to anyone. That I was capable of doing something worthy of other's attention and care.

4:40 PM

That sounds pathetic, admitting it outloud. I guess I am just pathetic.

4:40 PM

I guess that's why it was doomed to end in failure.

4:44 PM

I think I must have realized it, at some point. I don't know when, but I had to start convincing myself that what I was doing was for justice. I didn't doubt that what I was doing was justice at first. Maybe because at first, I never doubted Kite. He was just... perfect, I don't know.

4:45 PM

He was a beligerent asshole who never knew what to say when but at the same time I didn't doubt that following him was the right decision for a second. It wasn't until I started to that I needed to justify myself

4:49 PM

I guess Howard was right. Between the two of us, I might have been the better superhero. But that's the thing. Kite always had drive and commitment and a goal he wanted to achieve. He wasn't a perfect hero, but if you were a perfect hero, you wouldn't want to be a hero. Kite wasn't perfect, but he was the only one who could have been who he was. I guess I'm proud of him for that. And in some sense, I don't regret following him.

4:49 PM

I just wish it didn't have to be this way. Why did it end up like this? Why did it have to end up like this?

4:51 PM

Kite did everything he could, and he still died. Why? Why? Kite wasn't perfect, but he was doing his best! He didn't deserve to die like that, as a pawn in someone elses scheme, without even a body to bury. I shouldn't be the only one who mourns him.

4:54 PM

I wish I got to tell him that I loved him. Not just as his bro, but real, from-the-heart love. I just adored him in every single way. I can see him now for what he was, a callous idiot with a lot to prove and an ego the size of the city, and yet I can't escape feeling like I would do anything to see him again, just one more time. Just one more time.

4:59 PM

Shawn turns to the corpse lying on the floor. He props it up on the seat and lets the man sit. Another victim of Shawn's inaction. This man; Shawn checks his nametag, he is named Bobby Hammond, he had a family. Probably, somewhere out there. Shawn wonders how they'll react to the news of their close one being gone. Maybe theyll feel the same as Shawn feels about Kite

5:02 PM

But... Shawn isn't a hero, as much as he pretends to be, and maybe even how good he is at it. Even the best superheros have to go home at the end of the day and be people. Shawn didn't kill this man, Lillian did, and she's insane, and she'll be stopped.

5:04 PM

We're all people, and we're all suffering. I wish it was easier to make it hurt less. I wish I could be like those superheros, at the top of the skyscrapers, who always know that no matter how bad things get, good will triumph over evil, the bad guys will be defeated, and things will go back to being good and normal and perfect.

5:05 PM

But the world those superheros defend isn't perfect, either. There are countless problems in it. People are suffering, and theyll always be suffering, no matter how hard the heros try. (edited)

5:08 PM

Kite may have been an idiot and an asshole, but Shawn can't blame him for trying his best to make himself happier. He can't help but see the nobility in that. Same with Howard, or Lillian, or maybe even Lelouch. Despite that, I can't get over the massive pit in my stomach that makes me feel responsible for all of this. I should've done better

5:10 PM

I guess it all kinda goes back to the moralisms. Everyone is suffering always, but you are the sum of your own actions, and you're judged on the basis of that. We all suffered and we tried to make the best of it, but in the end, if someone wants to see me or Kite as a villain, I'd understand. I might even agree with them.

5:11 PM

So I suppose this is my punishment for it. Being dragged to who knows where by who knows who. I guess I'm ready to face judgement.

5:13 PM

Whoever comes to judge me, I hope that they know wrong from right better then I do.

5:14 PM

The final palace of Masquerade V is a courtroom. I wonder if itll be like that....

5:14 PM

...

5:15 PM

As Shawn thinks about Masquerade V, the final boss and his abandoned second playthrough, he slowly drifts to sleep

((End chapter))

Lelouch woke up, with her chest strapped to a wheelchair. She’s in her room. Her arms are free but she can’t reach behind the chair to get free. Jade is standing in front of her, wearing some kind of maid outfit.

Insert grumbling here. "What...the fuck..."

"Good morning, Miss Lelouch!"

"Huh?" Lelouch blinks a few times. "Jade?" It takes her a moment. "Jade?!" Her eyes snap open. "But- You- What- I-"

"What’s wrong?" She gets behind the wheelchair and grabs onto the handles.

"Didn't...didn't you die?!"

"Didn’t you?" Jade slowly pushes the chair out of the room.

"No!...Maybe? All I remember is..." She groaned. "Kite and his bitchass self being a bitchass..."

"You blew up."

"WHAT"

2:24 PM

"I have...too many questions..." Lelouch groans.

"You didn’t ask about my outfit." She sounds insulted.

"Right, right...why are you in a maid outfit? It looks cute, but...why?"

"…You like it? I thought you’d find it demeaning." She keeps pushing the wheelchair towards the dining room.

"It'd only be demeaning if you were forced to wear it. If you are willingly doing so, then it's cute." Lelouch looked at the wheelchair, and followed her statement up by asking, "can you untie me?"

"…I see." Jade nods. "It is empowering in that sense." She brings the wheelchair into the dining room. "But I’m not choosing to wear it." In the dining room, Shuichi was seated at his usual spot. A woman and a man were seated at Carmen and Josh's seats, and wore their clothes, but were quite distinctly not them. At the table was a fancy meal. Shuichi smiled. "Good morning, Lelouch. Maid, take her to her seat."

Lelouch's face dropped when Jade said she was forced to wear it, then more so when she saw Shuichi. "Oh. Then you should take it off. You're cuter when you're wearing what you want to wear." "So, are you the one that tied me up? And what's with the strangers? Are you forcing your delusions onto strangers now?" She asked as she was rolled into position.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Shuichi mockingly shrugs. "Do you, maid?" "No I don’t, Master Shuichi." Jade answers coldly, before rolling Lelouch into her seat.

"Don't call him Master Shuichi. You're way too good to be calling someone like him 'master'." Lelouch rolled her eyes, before looking at the two people pretending to be Carmen and Josh. "So, who are you two?"

"I’m your mother." Not-Carmen. Shuichi cringes. "…Shall we begin the meal?" "Of course." Not-Josh.

lelouch scoffs, though she plays it off as more of a laugh. "You're not my mother. My mother's dead."

"Eat your food, Lelouch." Shuichi.

"No. I'd rather starve than feed into your fantasy."

"Eat your food, Miss Lelouch." Jade.

"Wh- but Jade, you're being forced to do this! By him!" She looked to Jade, a confused and slightly hurt expression on her.

Jade's expression is cold and strange.

"Why should I listen to the man who's forcing my girlfriend to dress like a maid? Or taking two strangers and dressing them up like my DEAD family members? It makes no sense!" She tried to reach behind to untie the rope, failing, obviously.

"Of course she dresses like that. She's the Maoziwam family maid, isn't she? Why else would she spend so much time with you?" Shuichi. Jade bites her lip and nods.

"Because we're dating? And she told me herself, she's not dressing like that willfully!" Lelouch is angry.

"It was simply in the employment contract. Really, if you had even the slightest understanding of society you'd recognzie that a maid can hardly call her job voluntary. She is merely a tool of-" Shuichi stops monologuing suddenly when he looks at the fake family. "...Which is to say, it's in her contract yes." Jade nods again.

"Bullshit. Untie me, dammit!"

"Miss Lelouch... Eat your food." Jade.

"Why? Is it poisoned? Laced with sedatives?" She looks to Jade, then her fake family, then to Shuichi. "I refuse to eat this food!" She says, picking up the plate and throwing it off the table.

"Maid... Go serve her another plate." Shuichi. Jade nods and leaves.

"Jade, stop listening to Shuichi!"

She doesn't listen.

"Jade? Jade!" There's an almost desperate tone in her voice, before she looks to Shuichi. "The fuck did you do to my girlfriend!?"

"Please, stop insinuating you're dating a maid. It's rather disgusting for a rich young woman like yourself." Shuichi.

"But she's not a maid! And I am dating her!" She then points to her fake family. "AND THEY'RE DEAD!"

"Hm... Are you suffering from a concussion?" Shuichi grimaces bitterly.

"Are you?"

Jade returns with a fresh plate of food and puts it in front of Lelouch. "Eat. Or I'll have the maid serve it to you like an infant." Shuichi.

Lelouch grumbles, before eating.

The others eat as well. Jade keeps standing next to Lelouch.

Okay so if there's nothing immediate, Lelouch continues eating.

"See? Isn't this nice, Lelouch?" Shuichi.

"No."

"...Why not?" Shuichi.

"My girlfriend's listening to you and not me, and you've got people dressed up like my dead family. You've asked some pretty dumb questions, but that takes the cake." (edited)

"She would listen to you if you could be trusted to be reasonable." Shuichi.

"Yet she listens to you?" Lelouch scoffed. (edited)

"I’m a reasonable man. A smart one. All of these years… As much of a miserable old man as you may consider me… I controlled my companies flawlessly. I made the world fear me as an ingenious businessman. One with… A gift." He pours himself a glass of wine. "I am… The only one who can see, in a world that worships the blind." Jade takes the wine bottle from him and serves a glass to everyone, including Lelouch. She whispers to her. "Just humour him for now." "A toast?" Shuichi.

"..." Lelouch rolls her eyes, but agrees to a toast.

Shuichi raises his glass. "To family."

"To family." Lelouch says this through gritted teeth.

"To family." The fakes. All of them drink.

Lelouch drinks as well. Glug glug motherfuckers.

4:55 PM

Lelouch begrudgingly swallows, holding back a gag. "That's bitter." She grumbles.

"Hm… Oh right. That’s your first time, isn’t it?" Shuichi puts down the glass. "I should’ve thought it through. Depressive gluttons like you are prone to addiction."

"Ironic you call me depressive." Lelouch rolls her eyes, placing her glass down and sliding it further away from her.

Shuichi finishes his meal.

Lelouch finishes her meal.

He sits back in his chair. "…So that’s it, then."

"I assume so."

"…" Shuichi gets up and walks out.

Lelouch takes her eyes off her father, glancing to the people opposite her. "Well? Aren't you two going to leave?"

Jade unties Lelouch and hugs her.

"Oh-" Lelouch is caught off-guard, but hugs Jade back. "I'm glad you've come to your senses!"

"I just… Needed his help." Jade doesn’t face Lelouch.

"For?" Lelouch asks as she stands.

"Umm… Just-" Jade is interrupted by Shuichi walking back in. He tosses a few papers onto the table. "There." Jade looks confused by this.

Lelouch looks at the paper. "What's this?"

They’re some kind of blueprint. "They’ll be useful. Isn’t that what you wanted from me, you witch?" Shuichi eyes her. "…Yeah." Jade.

Lelouch looks at Jade, confused.

"Let’s get out of here. He agreed to never speak to you again." Jade.

"Oh? Thank god." Lelouch heads towards the door.

Jade follows her.

Lelouch enters the elevator.

6:17 PM

(I assume they;re in the penthouse?)

((Correct))

6:17 PM

Jade follows her into the elevator.

She goes to the ground floor.

((End session))

(WOO)

((Saturday))

Lelouch’s phone rings.

((Can you do a makeup session))

Lelouch’s phone rings.

Lelouch looks to her phone, then to Jade. "Give me a minute, cutie." She says, before answering.

"Okay!"

Sam wakes up in his bed.

Wednesday. It's unclear how much this actually matters. That aside, thinking about yesterday's events, it is clear that there is something which does not make sense. It's a sort of causal paradox: I went somewhere random, yet encountered someone who gave thought-provoking information. Imagine if I went to the building next door instead. Would something similar have occurred? This city is large, and has many people who I've talked to who said the everyday things, and I don't mind that. So, why then was the behavior different now? I can only conclude that the days since around when Ehn showed up differ heavily from the ones before. Perhaps there is a real world this is based off of, for example? In any case, I need to find at least one method of escaping, however that works. It didn't seem as if I was being roped into anything in particular; Sophie gave me the option of not checking in on her, and I'm glad she can be left to do whatever she wants to on her end without any protagonist nonsense. So, is there a plan set out for me or not? Regardless, I should try to take some action to get the answer. He goes downstairs.

Naomi is downstairs, talking on the phone.

...It's probably her work connections, as usual. There's probably not much reason to stay here, but I should plan where I go next anyway, whether it's a random location or otherwise. Sam listens in for a bit. (edited)

"Are you sure…? They’ve identified the body?"

...This could be anyone. I doubt it's anyone I know, and it's been way too long for it to be anyone important. I might be concerned about Mr. Kerloe, at least more than some others, but if the 'story' dictates me being alive currently, then the same likely goes for him, right? He leaves through the front door unless something happens.

"…Thank you." She hangs up. "Sam?"

That was quick. There are a few ways that call could've ended, and I figured she'd go for a while longer. Perhaps I was meant to ask about this from the start, or she just didn't want me to leave abruptly. "Yes?"

"What do you say to someone when you leave?"

Never mind. Boring. "...I'm leaving. Bye. Have a good day. Or a nice call, if you need to call back later." He actually leaves after that regardless of if something happens.

She follows him out of the door. "You don’t have to worry anymore, either."

"About what? I wasn't exactly worrying about anyone, I think."

"Yourself. Jeff Johnner died. No one’s going to come after you anymore. So get to school."

"Who's that? Hardly sounds like the name of a mastermind behind anything." Okay, I somewhat remember him, but mostly because Sophie mentioned him recently. Still, him being the mastermind would be silly. Everyone knows there are more people behind such things. I doubt he was at all responsible for my situation. I wonder if this implies there is something for me to see at school. I doubt I would be sent there for no reason. But well, order doesn't matter here.

"He’s the figurehead of the mob, but without him it’ll crumble. No one’s going to waste their time going after you."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." At least that lets me worry about the greater threat. Perhaps him dying was meant to happen because of this? But none of these events had to exist in the first place. ...It's still annoying that someone would concoct such a plan to have Jeff Johnner be placed in that important role only to die later. He does actually proceed towards the school.

Naomi goes back inside.

Who killed him, anyway? I doubt it matters. Should I stop by somewhere else? There isn't much I can do to break things within the school, but I might run into someone important at school, the way things are. Both options are fine, I just need to spin the situation in a direction favorable for me. On the way to the school, Sam opts to look inside some arbitrary building, just to see what's going on.

Nothing particularly interesting.

The absence of action is an interesting point. I would expect something to happen, but this time, it wasn't the case. Is anyone in the building?

There are.

He steps in and approaches some random person. "Hi, what happens in this building?"

They give an extraordinarily complex explanation that just leaves Sam more confused.

"Fascinating. Thanks." I'm not sure what the point is. I can't tell if the implication is whether I should leave or keep trying here. Now, if I go back later and check in on some random building and something similar happens again, that might be something. ...Either way, this won't work. I probably have better chances going to school for now. He leaves and actually gets to school.

Sam arrives at school. Things are normal.

There's no one yet. I could go to class, but I think it's best to leave the people there to their own devices. I'm also curious if I'll have to go there at some point. But there's little use staying where it's obvious nothing is happening. He walks around and tries to find a broom closet.

There is indeed a broom closet.

Could be a good place to hang out instead. He enters and keeps the door slightly open to see who walks by.

Sophie walks by.

She still goes here. That makes sense. He continues watching to see who walks by.

No one else important passes by.

How many students do I know here, actually? Maybe 3 or 4 by name, at most. Still, this is indicative of a clear result. There are very few coincidences in this city. He continues watching.

Eventually the janitor walks in.

Oh. Finally, someone who knows something about this place. This is exactly what I should be doing. This should be great. "Hello. Sorry for showing up here, but I have a few questions, if it's okay?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I was told to go look for something here. But I still want to ask things."

"What is it?"

Well, I could ask what your job is, what do you do around here, and so on, but he might be a bit impatient in this case. I shouldn't interfere with his job either way, as interesting as it could be. "Do you know of any students who have recently disappeared from around here?"

"I'm just a janitor. I don't pay attention to that."

...How long can I carry this conversation, anyway? "Then what do you pay attention to?"

"Cleaning. Can you just go to Lelouch class, I have cleaning to do."

"That's a class? Whatever, sure. But I got a bit lost, sorry. Could you point me in the direction to get there?" That's not something you normally say. It's without a doubt clear that I'm being told to go here not because the janitor happens to be a random person who would bother with that. But I am curious since I never saw her in the past few days...

"I dunno, any class. They’re all Lelouch class."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because everyone is dedicated to worshipping Lelouch Maoziwam, of course."

"This is the first I've heard of this. Probably because I just came here recently, sorry. Where is she?"

The janitor shrugs.

"How do you know her in the first place?"

"Who doesn’t know Lelouch Maoziwam?"

"As I said, I came here recently. Did she do something important?"

The janitor looks at Sam like he’s crazy.

"I also don't have a phone. I can't check the news." I wonder if I'm meant to get the answer or not. But it doesn't matter. I can keep this conversation up until something absurd occurs.

The janitor leaves with a mop.

Lame. Actually, while it's not ideal to be out and about, I can still keep this conversation up if I pretend. Sam takes some broom from the broom closet and catches up to the janitor.

"What are you doing?"

"You didn't answer my question. Also, I was supposed to pick up a broom. Anyway, what was it that she did?"

"Why would she have to do something?"

"Well, you implied she was well known. That means she did something important."

"She’s important because she’s important."

Exactly. This is not a normal conversation. In fact, I doubt any conversations I've had in Avengard recently were truly normal, and for good reason. What the janitor is saying is true. She is probably one of Ehn's 'protagonists' given her relevance prior. So this checks out. I'm not talking to anyone important. But it's worth continuing this conversation because of it. ...Though, does that mean the other town is in danger of falling victim to the same problems as this city? Maybe I really should try to get back there eventually. Or I could just trust in them. That sounds better. Ashley can probably make that work somehow. "...Do you know anyone else at this school?"

"Jade Lamperouge. She’s really cute…"

Finally. A new name. I don't think this actually helps, but it's good to know I'm not the only one around here. There are more students than just the people I know, which means other 'protagonists' can help deal with the situation, at least at this school. "How do you know her?"

"She’s the one who told us about Lelouch."

"Who's 'us'? You're only one person."

"The school."

"That doesn't make sense. If Lelouch was so important, then you would know about her before being told about her by a different person."

"No love." They shakes their head, and begin mopping the floor.

What a bizarre statement. But that's exactly it. "Shouldn't that make Jade the more important one? Why is it Lelouch?" I have a very clear idea, but I want to hear the janitor's 'thoughts'.

"Because she told us to, obviously."

"...And you just listened to her."

"Obviously. That’s love."

"Do you not have a problem with-" Actually, this question is irrelevant. I doubt I will get a real answer. I got what I asked about. "Are there any other students you know besides Jade and Lelouch?"

"No, I don’t pay attention."

"...What do you do outside of being a janitor?"

"This is my full time job."

"So? There are more than 8 hours in a day."

They keep mopping.

"Nothing, huh? Do you even exist outside of this school?"

"Yeah. Can you just go now?"

"Sure. Thanks for talking, I learned a lot." I already proved my point, anyway. I should do something else and see what happens then. It's a shame he doesn't have a more interesting daily life, anyway. I should leave things as they are. Sam goes around the school looking for a classroom that might have Lelouch or Shawn in it since those are the only two he knows the faces of, and makes sure to avoid stopping by his own class. If this fails, he just opens a random classroom that is not his.

((Roll))

((15))

Sam finds that neither of them are anywhere in the school. He does, however, run into Sophie as she tries to sneak through the halls. ((Pause session for a bit))

((Cool. By the way, just to clarify, he is still carrying the broom.))

((I can keep going now))

((I'm walking around in real life give me a bit))

6:44 PM

So they're not here? Perhaps this was intentional as well. I wonder where, then. Perhaps I should've stayed outside. But for now, I should hope this conversation goes by as fast as possible, even if it is necessary. "Hey."

"…Oh. You’re here. Please tell me you’re not obsessing over Lelouch."

"No? What, is everyone else?" Are you serious? Was the janitor not making metaphorical statements? Well, it's still a similar concept. Fine. I can work with this. But I don't get it. She isn't even here.

"Yeah. They’re running a full class over that creep. God, I can’t catch a break, can I?" She rubs here eyes, but her face still looks like she’s been crying.

So, if this is actually real, then could it be... one of Ehn's objects? Perhaps something happened one or two days ago to cause this, so Sophie wasn't caught in it since she was in a coma. This is perhaps a problem. I can't respect someone who takes away from people who simply exist. Sure, school drama is boring, but there are people like the janitor who may have been better before. I should try to convince her not to use whatever she has, much like everyone else. That should help. "That's annoying. She's probably not even at school today. It might be good to leave the building."

"Yeah… I’m trying to get out of here."

"Okay." Sam starts walking towards the nearest exit unprompted.

She follows. "It’s… That easy?"

"...It should be? Were you stuck here earlier?" Is that another effect? Sophie is clearly not someone in contact with Ehn, so she may be subject to some other rules that might be preventing escape. I wonder if that's the reason I was able to run around so freely. In that case, finding Lelouch shouldn't be that hard. Sam just leaves when he finds an exit.

"I don’t know… I just… Assumed they’d stop me."

Not an unfounded assumption. It's possible that could've happened otherwise. Though, if hypothetically there was no free will, would someone be allowed to leave the classroom to begin with? "Well, it didn't happen. It's best to leave now."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know. I was going to go try to find Lelouch, as I doubt I have anything else to accomplish at school. I doubt you want to be there for that."

"Yeah… No."

"Okay. ...Have a good day." He starts to walk back towards the school.

"Not likely." She keeps walking away.

7:23 PM

The school is the same as before.

How can I even go about searching for anyone I know? None of them are at the school, and talking to anyone else would yield similar answers to the janitor. I doubt anyone is at their houses right now, even aside from that. I wonder what would happen if I just went somewhere? Sam goes to some random building in the vicinity of the school and opens the door.

((Roll))

((17))

Sam enters a random business. The man from last night is working there as a receptionist.

...Okay, question time. Do I really think this guy works here, or is he just here for lack of a better person to take his place? All of this is a mess, isn't it? I'm not sure if my conclusions make sense. "Hello."

"Oh not you again..."

"Yeah, I don't get this either. But I'll make it simple this time, I'm not trying to waste your time this morning. Do you know where Lelouch Maoziwam is?"

"Who?"

Plus, staying here too long would be bad in the sense that he might become more relevant against his will. And I would prefer for people to stay out of it if they're real. If they're not, it doesn't matter. "...Do you know where Hav Kerloe is?" They knew each other, so at least it's an attempt.

"No, I don't... I don't know where anyone is. Why don't you just... Check a phonebook."

"Sure. Is there one here?"

"No. There's probably one in a library or something."

"Then what is this place?"

"I... It's... An office space."

"Oh, okay." I'll just go to the library soon. However... He tries to see if he can go further into the building anyway.

The door is locked.

Likely nothing to see there, anyway. There wasn't meant to be anything here besides him. "Thanks, by the way. You made good points." Sam leaves the building and goes to find some library.

"Uh... You're welcome."

7:54 PM

Sam finds a library.

He goes to find some phonebook.

This succeeds.

Sam now checks to see if he can find listed information for Lelouch Maoziwam, Hav Kerloe, Bob Smith, Nathan Smith, Jade Lamperouge, Shawn Duveldt, Wilford Duveldt, Ray Elliot, Sophie Wight, Jeff Johnner, Ashley Laurier, and 'Ehn'. In that exact order. ...I don't know Gordon's last name.

((Roll))

((13))

There are a couple of Shuichi's companies under his name listed here, along with Josh Maoziwam, but Lelouch isn't. There are no results for Kerloe. There are too many Bob Smiths and Nathan Smiths to sift through. There is no Jade Lamperouge. Wilford and Madeline Duveldt are in the phonebook, but not Shawn. Ray Elliot is there, and so is Sophie(Sam does already have the latter's phone number accessible in his texts). Johnner isn't there. Ashley Laurier isn't there, but there are a few Lauriers who could be related. Ehn isn't a name.

((my phone has been broken for a while though. good to have a refresher)) Sam goes to find some paper in the library to record all of what does exist and writes it down. Then he leaves to find a phonebooth somewhere.

((Roll))

((3))

Sam cannot find a phone booth. Stan pulls up in his car next to Sam.

Huh. I wonder what they're doing at this time of day? In any case, I could go back home and try to use a phone there. Perhaps that'll work. Or I could go to school and use a phone there. It's likely the place I'm going is either of those. Sam walks up to the car, but doesn't get in. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Oh, umm... Your mother wanted me to check why you weren't at school."

"Tell her someone else had an emergency and that I'm walking back there now."

"Oh... What are you doing out here then?"

"I was helping them out. They wanted to go to the library. I'm a good person, you know?"

"Oh. Do you want a lift, then?"

"Not really. I prefer to walk, and it's not that far."

"Oh... Okay." He leaves.

Sam walks to the school and finds the front office.

This succeeds. It's empty.

He goes to use the phone there. Where should I start? The most 'direct' solution would be to call Shuichi or Josh Maoziwam, but I don't imagine he would be on the other end. I could try Wilford, then, since Shawn and Lelouch seemed to be in contact with each other. Actually, there's one way I could do this. Sam tries to call Josh Maoziwam.

It rings for a long time, and then finally... "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Belto Shelk Memorial Highschool calling. Lelouch wasn't at school today. Do you know where she might be?"

"Why did you call this phone number...? Even when Josh... Even when he was still alive... He never attended your school."

Oh. My bad. Though, does it really matter? How important was he? I have no idea. In any case, it's best to press forward. "This was a phone number listed in the directory, and we were unable to reach Shuichi through any of his companies."

"Yes... I am he. Shuichi. In the future, try not to make my dead son's phone ring." He sounds tired.

"We're sorry. ...But do you happen to know where Lelouch Maoziwam is?"

"She just left. For the final time." He sighs. "If I may, I really do recommend you not have kids. They truly are a torturous lot. The kind who torture their parents as if it were some mere joke. That... Is the nature of teenage rebellion. Spite at being born. They do not want it... No one wants it. So don't harm them with it. What were you talking about again? Oh yes, my daughter. Hmm... I don't know if she'll be coming to school anymore. She seems to consider herself beyond that. And in some ways... Perhaps she may be. She is my flesh and blood, after all."

"...You're right. When you get old enough, you learn that living is simply difficult. While it's best to work with the cards you've been dealt, I think family tends to get in the way of the lives any of us want. It's an inevitable consequence that must be worked around." "This school... It's in a bit of disarray, to say the least. Your daughter has done something to the people here, that's for sure. But if you don't know, then I'm sorry you have to deal with the consequences. It would do better for you to not have thought about her in the first place." "...Do you have any idea where she might've gone?" (edited)

"...No. It's not my job anymore, as it seems. Some witch has stolen her away from under me... And I let it happen." He laughs strangely. "I suppose it's a Maoziwam's nature to seek greatness on our own. Perhaps in that sense too, we aren't too far apart. I'd certainly hate to be my own mother..."

"To seek greatness on your own... I find it difficult to get behind something like that. In some way, I wish everyone I met was great. But who's to say?" "...You said someone stole her away. Was that person named Jade?"

"Yes... That's the name she gave her. The most despicable human I had ever encountered... I wonder what changed. What light did she see to strike that deal? Hmm..." He pauses. "What is your name?"

...I'd never heard about her until today. "I see. I have no clue what deal that may have been." "...I'm Sam Kidink. A person who should be dead, and a person who's failed many times at his goals. Or Alex, if you'd prefer that."

"I've never heard of you. You must be exceedingly irrelevant. And yet, you've heard of me? Isn't that funny... My mark on history is undeniable. Thus is the nature of existence. You really ought to hurry Mr... What was it again? Hmm... It seems I've forgotten again." He laughs. "Oh yes, my daughter... Here's her phone number." He says it. "I would certainly hate to deprive her of such conversational opportunities as you." He laughs again.

Sam writes the number down. "...It's true. I'm quite irrelevant, and in some ways, it's a trait I like. But I'm still trying to make moves, and we'll see where it takes me. And we'll see what happens for any of us, no matter what position we have." "Alex Zeety. Try not to remember it. Thanks."

"You sound rather young for a faculty member." He finally brings this up.

"I agree."

"Hm." He hangs up.

...What will happen now, I wonder? Sam calls the Lelouch Maoziwam phone number.

((End session))

9:10 PM

((Saturday))

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 9/18/2023 9:51 PM

((Saturday))

((Sorry for the lack of response shoko has just not shown up))

((that's fine, I'm a bit tired anyway))

((Can you do a makeup session))

((unless it's literally tomorrow, I don't think so))

Lelouch picks up.

((Okay.))

I breathe heavily for a few seconds. “Fuck. Fuck. I’m so stupid. I mean, he didn’t say my last name. But… shit.” (edited)

"What happened?" Kingsley.

“A declaration of war. Maybe not. Johnner’s dead, right? The big boss. Only person bigger is about to be dealt with. So this… this is just making sure to address what’s left. It’s housekeeping.”

"I’m not… Quite sure how Howard is going to take it." Kingsley.

“He’ll be fine. Seemed bored with the conclusion last we spoke. This is at least something interesting.”

"I think… He wanted to be the one responsible, though." Kingsley.

“The early bird gets the worm. …Besides, it’s not like a lunatic on live television can actually get someone charged with a crime. There’s still plenty someone can do.”

"Right. True." Kingsley nods awkwardly.

I finish catching my breath. It’s like I’ve just run a fucking marathon. I chuckle a bit at the irony of performing the most balls-to-the-wall gutsy move I might have ever done while dressed like an alien’s conception of a stereotypical high femme. “I wonder… what happens now.” I say quietly.

"Good job!" Ariel kisses her.

I maybe have an embarrassed expression at this display of affection. “Yeah. Thanks. I guess… That was an uncharacteristically good thing to do, really. I guess I was just mad… I couldn’t protect her. So I did the next best thing.” I put my hand on my head. “I wouldn’t be able to answer why I wanted to do that, but frankly, I don’t think anyone here is in a position to judge me for that.”

"Of course not." Ariel nods. "But wasn’t I the one who was supposed to do those sorts of things?"

I pause for a second, processing what the fuck that means. “…Oh, shit. Sorry. Yeah. I was just caught off guard. You’re more than welcome to the next… whatever the hell that is.”

"Okay!" Ariel.

“That should be the end of all that business, at least. Even if she can’t get charged with anything that sticks, she certainly can’t afford to make a move with all this attention. And god knows Jeff won’t be ordering any hits anytime soon.” I hug her. “I can’t lose you, Ariel. It’s too much. Even when it was someone who rejected me, I…” I don’t finish that sentence. “I need you, is all. Thanks.”

"I love you too." Ariel.

“Mhm.” I stay like that for a bit, then pull back. “I am tempted to right now try and, y’know, consummate this. But I just know if I even think about it that’ll be the exact moment Howard comes here to yell at me. So let’s just deal with that first.”

"Alright! Good luck!" Ariel.

((good place to stop maybe? i have no idea what im about to do))

((Oh sure))

((Saturday))

"Alright! Good luck!" Ariel.

((do i even fcukinf have a means to contact him i forget))

((I think you can call him))

I call him.

"Howard Scott." Howard Scott.

“Howard Scott.” I affirm. “Does now work?”

"Yes."

“Okay. Anything specific I should know…?”

"Just get him out of his apartment for a bit. Don’t make too suspicious if that’s possible."

He lives in an apartment? “Okay. I’ll get started on that now.”

"And again, don’t let him die." Howard hangs up.

I sigh, mildly annoyed I didn’t hang up after getting the last word. Mm. I eye my company in this room. Ariel’s one thing, but Kingsley… well, he’s essentially a confidant. I only avoid speaking incriminatingly to Howard out of habit. But I don’t like that. …It doesn’t matter what I like, though. Not at this point. The person I trusted has already decided he’s to be trusted, anyway. Assuming he doesn’t already know. What a mess. Not to mention the crazy person who knows what I can do. Wasn’t I supposed to try to kill him? Did a lousy job at that. Oh, but Grace, she gets to have the safety of my secrets ensured, thank god!! I— I stop this train of thought from going on indefinitely, because I did say I was just about to do it. I sit down. I can hardly remember… back when I wrote lists and charts, trying to keep everything under my control… What did I think was so worth scheming for, so worth the effort? I shake my head. “See you in a bit.” I say to Ariel.

"Bye!" Ariel.

I write “Shuichi Maoziwam” on the relevant sheet of paper.

Dana finds herself standing in a bathroom. She’s standing in front of a mirror, but not directly looking at it. Instead, her gaze is kept to his hands, one of which holds a knife at the other hand's wrist.

Jesus. “Not today, man.” I say, letting go of the knife. Keeping my gaze closer to the ground just in case, I attempt to maneuver out of this bathroom.

"What are you doing, Shuichi?" The voice feels like it’s coming from behind him.

One I don’t recognize, presumably. Never the easy path. I try not to seem shocked if this is a guy who has just, I don’t know, been standing here with Shuichi’s knowledge while he considers killing himself?? “What do you think.” I mutter.

"You know you have to do this. You have nothing left!"

Wow, okay. “That may be true. I may recognize it… I may hate it.” I grab onto the knife again. “I just think you’re operating under a misconception.”

"No I’m not, Shuichi. You know I know everything about you."

“Strictly speaking, that’s impossible. You’d have to be omniscient, to know everything about all else, too. It all connects. I think it’s much more likely your saying that comes from arrogance.” I pay attention to the voice. Anything possible to discern? Gender? Age? And most importantly… is there a physical person in the room with me?

The voice sounds like it’s coming from a woman, about Shuichi’s age. There’s no one else in the room. "Don’t lie to yourself. You’ve always been a terrible liar, even before I died."

I smirk. I can’t help it. This… is interesting. “Now that’s a funny thing to say. Very funny…” I chuckle. “It seems we’ve both had a run of bad luck.”

"You’re laughing? Do you think you’re better than me? You always were such a narcissist."

“I am a massive narcissist, yes. It’s why I cling to life so tightly.” I twirl the knife in my fingers. “Even without liking the person I am all too much, I still put them first every time.” I shake my head. “Ghosts aren’t real. I apologize for being closed minded, but the idea goes against all sense of how the world works. But that’s not the interesting part.” I’m grinning. Teeth showing. This is just too good, and I can’t take it seriously as a threat to the success of what Howard’s looking for. “The obvious conclusion, and the one I think you’re probably going for, is that you’re a hallucination. Tulpa, if that’s the word. …But you can’t be. You are not a manifestation of Shuichi Maoziwam’s thoughts. That isn’t how this works. It’s never been. So the question is…” I turn around, knife outstretched to the thin air. “What are you? And why are you trying to pretend you’re what I assume to be my deceased spouse?”

"Are you having some kind of breakdown? This is pathetic, even for you."

“A breakdown? I don’t know, but I’m certainly hearing voices. Well, think what you want. I’m just honestly curious. Sure you can’t give me a hint? Wolf to wolf, before we go back to pretending to be someone we’re not?”

"…Have you lost your mind? Or… Are you so desperate to lie to yourself like this?"

“Nah. I did entertain the idea I could be crazy, but you’re not even pulling from the mannerisms of anyone I know. I guess you probably don’t get what’s going on, so I can’t blame you for coming to this conclusion. ….For the record, a lunatic would still be less worthless than a corpse.” I put my hand on the door if I’ve been able to find it. “Anything else before I head out, or is telling me to kill myself kind of your one thing?”

"You can’t run away, Shuichi."

“Yeah. I know. So stop telling me to.” How fuckin bigis this bathroom

Dana can leave this is not stopped. (edited)

I leave the bathroom on that note.

Shuichi Maoziwam is in a large penthouse. The most visible exit is an elevator.

I check his pockets for like, a phone or wallet or whatever. Just might be suspicious if I leave home in a state he normally wouldn’t.

He has these things.

Okay, cool. I call up the elevator.

The elevator arrives.

I enter it, and press the first floor. This is the floor on ground level, because we aren’t in Britain.

Shuichi arrives in the lobby.

He leaves it, unless stopped or questioned.

He is now outside a tall apartment building, in the middle of Avengard.

Okay. That was the entirety of what I was told to do. I turn right and walk along the sidewalk for a bit.

"Where are you going?" The same voice.

“Oh, you’re not chained to that location. Well, nowhere in particular. Shouldn’t that be a stupid question to ask, though? Thought you knew everything about me.”

"Have you lost your mind?"

“Something like that, yeah.”

"Are you hoping a stray car finishes the job for you? Coward."

“I thought about that for a second. Like, does the method really matter? You seemed eager I do it specifically right there.”

"The method is important. Are you really forgetting all your research into religious customs?"

I speak quietly enough that hopefully only people who walk right by me think I’m insane. Or just have an earpiece. “Oh, weird cult shit? Am I actually directly connected to them… well, whatever. Ritual suicide isn’t a thing in any major religion. The closest is like, seppuku, which isn’t really for a religion, and those monks that starve themselves, which isn’t quite suicide. Wrists is a more crass and basic method. Whatever you are, you’d probably do a better job suibaiting by doing research online yourself, if that’s possible. You’ve probably got on the right track with this family member thing, but the vitriol’s a little weak. Random 15 or 50 year olds too obsessed with anime are a lot better at seeming enraged.”

"Shuichi… You’re not making sense. Where did the reasonable debate go?"

“Debate? Jeez. He really… And you think I’ve now lost my mind? Look, lady, there’s nothing to debate. I really don’t give a shit about your very real death you went through, and I’m not going to fucking kill myself randomly. You’re wasting your time. But feel free to keep trying. The suicide… is this about Edward Blythe?”

"Are you really so delusional you’ve started to believe that fraud? Face reality."

So there is a connection. Makes enough sense. No reason to find it significant. Yet. “…You haven’t technically identified yourself. Just in case… you wouldn’t claim to be ‘god’, would you?” (edited)

"What? No. You of all people should understand there is no god."

“Yeah. Checks out. Jeez. Real doomer. Actually, I guess if you’re telling me ‘you have nothing left to live for’, and expecting that to work, Shuichi must have a pretty dogshit relationship with his living relations, huh? Damn. Not sure how to feel about that. I guess it makes sense, at least.”

"Why are you talking in 3rd person?"

“Because I’m delusional and lost my mind. You already concluded that, remember? You’re on your own for finding a better solution.”

"I’m starting to believe you’re not really him."

“That’s crazy. It’s worth believing if it’ll make you cut the act out, though.” This sure is a walk. Are people giving me looks? I really have no idea what I’m meant to be doing.

"Magic isn’t real. How are you doing this?"

“I’m asking you the exact same question. I guess we’re at a standstill.”

"It must simply be another one of your delusions, then."

“Haaaahh… oh well.”

5:50 PM

“People will see what they want to see. What they expect. Even if they have to stretch plausibility.”

"That is true."

“I mean, there’s certain assumed defaults — that people are who they say they are, obviously, but even things they don’t say. Like… gay people.”

"Don’t encourage her."

“Haha. That’s a funny thing to say too, but I’m not the least bit interested in addressing… ugh. It’s just about what people think that is. Because straight is the default. And then, the things people take as signifiers for someone being an exception—they don’t even have anything to fucking do with the actual question. It’s like, how they talk and dress, and bullshit. Someone can be the queerest motherfucker alive constantly talking about the same sex suggestively, and without these agreed upon signals, everyone around them is gonna just… it’s like they didn’t see anything. Which is why it’s bullshit, I think, when people talk about something like indirect communication or body language as being important. Because even direct language sometimes just, doesn’t work at all, y’know?”

"What?"

“How long have I even been walking? I mean, no wonder he lost his mind when he has you constantly. Why even…”

"I’m not a clock. You have a phone, you useless imbecile."

“Sure, sure.” I check my phone and confirm that unsurprisingly, a few minutes or so have passed. “Okay, maybe I will get into. Is that your problem? That specifically? That’s her moral failing? That she’s gay? Nothing else? I just don’t understand why else you’d have responded to the mere mention of…”

"The problem is that she’s like you. You already know that."

“Ok. Good. That checks out. I was just worried… this was some weird freudian thing. Not that it matters, I don’t think… it’s just. It would’ve bothered me for a moment, I guess.”

"What doesn’t? Everything seems to bother you."

“Well, this alternative bothers me less.” I shake my head. “Man, does Maoziwam really think his dead wife spends her after-existence as like, a minor annoyance? It’s so stupid. I’ve always hated stories like that — where ghosts are actual souls of humans with their full consciousness, but they do stupid ghost bullshit. Who cares? At least being tethered to one location by forces outside their control kind of makes sense, but the idea that someone he clearly thinks fucking hates him would dedicate all of her time to being an Epic Troll is so absurdly self-centered.”

"…"

“I guess the story makes sense if you’re like, tethered to me. And so you want me to die so you can stop having to sit through this. Still, it’s better than not existing, right?”

"Are you really that dumb?"

“I dunno. Probably? I could make some more guesses if I tried harder. Does this have to do with Ehn?”

"You already cancelled that."

I smile. “I fucking knew it.”

"Even then, how could that have anything to do with me? I’ve been dead for years before you created that ridiculous project."

“That was the point, right? It was to bring you back.” This guy seems kind of dumb. Maybe by just saying shit I can pull more info out.

"Don’t lie to yourself. The only thing it could serve to accomplish was immortalizing you."

Hmm. “Would it really have been me? If it’s a legacy I want, there would have been other ways for that.”

"Exactly. It was stupid. Profoundly so. Even you realized that in all of your insatiable thirst for endless value you understood that even if it were possible, you could never truly recreate yourself like that." The voice starts to sound less like a dead woman torturing someone and more like a man psychoanalyzing himself to himself.

“But Ehn exists. And so do you.” I think very hard about what the fuck is going on.

"EHN doesn’t exist. That’s not what words mean."

“If ‘Ehn’ is supposed to be a recreation of Shuichi Maoziwam… that sounds like it’s just you.” I decide not to get into the fucking cat.

"What is this lapse in intelligence you’re experiencing? Did you become braindead somehow? Really, people are going to start thinking you’ve gone mad. Stop this." Shuichi. Dana suddenly awakens back in her body as Kingsley attempts to give her CPR.

“Agh!” I shove him off me.

He falls over. "You’re okay?"

“Yes, I am. Why were you…”

"You suddenly passed out!" Kingsley.

“Yeah, like, a while ago, right? Were you doing that the whole time???” Is Ariel here?

Ariel is here.

“That’s for… like, when people aren’t breathing, right?”

"…Probably?" Kingsley.

“Well… wasn’t I? Even if I passed out, that doesn’t mean doing…” I shake my head. Whatever. “And you were just… here.” I mumble to Ariel. “It’s fine. I guess something happened that I couldn’t have anticipated. I mean, I don’t feel like that would have woken me up… but I don’t know why it happened.”

"I didn’t know how much you wanted him to know." Ariel.

“Right. I see. …Thank you.” I sigh. “Hopefully that was good enough.”

"What was?" Kingsley.

“Some nonsense for Howard.”

"…Oh." Kingsley.

“Ariel, um… all the way back a week or so ago, when I was you, you couldn’t like, hear my thoughts, right?”

"No?" Ariel.

“Okay. Okay.” I sigh. “If he’s the man behind everything, maybe he works differently…” I frown.

"So, uh… What now?" Kingsley.

“I don’t know. That should be all of our professional associations… for me, there’s a few things I should probably take care of.”

Dana's phone rings.

I check it.

It’s Howard.

I answer. “Hello?”

"Good job. Like I mentioned, I’ll need you again tomorrow. I’ll call you when it’s time."

“Oh. Okay, sure.” I forgot that.

"And tell officer Kingsley to get off his ass and get back to work."

“Sure. Kingsley, you’re supposed to get back to work.” I say this to Kingsley.

"Oh. I am?" Kingsley.

“I guess.”

He runs out.

“So, whatever that was supposed to be… worked?” I say back to the phone.

"That’s what I’m saying, yeah. Watch the news tomorrow, if you care. His face is gonna be plastered everywhere."

“Hah. I’ll keep an eye out. Follow up tomorrow, then?”

"Yeah." He hangs up.

Fuck! I was just about to.

"Did it go well?" Ariel.

“Apparently. Whatever was supposed to happen. He’ll be a headline tomorrow.” I keep out and stare at my phone. “But he was never the only cause for concern.”

"What are you worried about?"

“I just… I want to make sure I haven’t overlooked anything.” I start pacing. “Marco Gould’s dead. I have multiple confirmations of that even beyond experiencing it myself. Same with Kris Prat. Poor fella never had a chance. I don’t understand what exactly happened with Rumen, but I just have to trust Kingsley there. Jeremy…” I decide not to dwell on that one. “I have to trust Johnner’s dead too, I guess. And that his boss is now out of commission. Now, that does leave other criminals, but in terms of relevance to us, it’s probably just about what exactly we can discern about Gordon and his motives.” I stop for a second to catch my breath.

7:39 PM

“Blythe…” I look online and see that she’s trending. I smirk, but confirm what it’s about.

It's about Dana's public news announcement. It seems like she came up on the news again, if Dana wants to watch that clip.

I guess there’s no reason not to.

Grobber is alone on the set saying these things directly to the camera while checking his phone.

They were fucking?!

7:45 PM

Ugh.

7:45 PM

All these people are the same.

7:50 PM

“I can’t believe it. He actually kind of seemed like the one guy who was decent, but he’s a self absorbed lunatic. … Well, whatever. I’m not particularly betrayed by that.” I yawn. “Bob Smith, though. That’s interesting. I think he doesn’t actually know anything, but it might be worth looking into at some point. The bottom line is that Blythe is dealt with.”

7:52 PM

“Ignoring the possibility of whatever vestiges rise from the ashes of the past crime status quo, that leaves… whatever happened yesterday. Or last night. This night. Earlier today. Whatever. It’s probably worthwhile to check who did and didn’t die from that. We know we’re alive and that Johnner isn’t, so it clearly isn’t completely cut and dry. I won’t exactly be unhappy receiving information about the life or death status of Harriet, but… there’s only really two there worth caring about.”

7:57 PM

“Kite is… obviously a problem. But I don’t know who he actually is. And the other… the… To be clear, I’m not trying to advocate for killing anyone, to be clear. But Grace died because I decided loose ends were okay. Not again.” I’m quiet for a moment. “Jade Lamperouge. She… I mean, we both saw it, there’s no clear explanation for what happened, what exactly that means.” I look up her name, which I know exactly how to spell, a fact which makes my hair stand on end. She’s probably dead. She has to be dead. Please. I need this.

0 results.

Right. She’s just some guy. No reason to be confident in anything. They probably just don’t have this information. Yet, at least. She’s dead. I consider asking Ariel if she thinks she’s dead before realizing that makes no sense. I check if Lelouch survived, if I can. Mainly by seeing if there are any articles from recently mentioning her. She’s a big enough deal that definitely would have been news.

Nothing new about her.

Tch.

8:02 PM

Whatever.

8:09 PM

I hesitantly look towards the means I can confirm someone’s current status with. …But I still don’t actually know what happens when someone’s dead. Too much of a risk.

8:11 PM

“Oh, the amnesiac. I guess he matters? It hurts to even think about him. Confusing bullshit. I don’t…” I throw up my hands, overwhelmed. “Well, you’re supposed to make these decisions right now. Anything we should do?”

"I think we should sleep!"

…Is it late?

Fairly.

8:21 PM

"If you’re not tired, I have a solution."

“I don’t know, it’s just… short day. I guess it makes sense. Front loaded… uh. Yeah. Lot happened last night. Needed the rest.” My heart is pounding. I wasn’t even sure that was a real thing. “So when you say… I mean, I asked what we should do, which, I just…”

"Hm?"

“Never… never mind. What did you mean by solution?”

"I think you know…"

“M…maybe.” It’s cool how I’m nailing this act of a shy prude like just for laughs lmao

She smiles.

… I won’t… run away. I put my hands in my pockets. Except. I don’t. This thing doesn’t have pockets. God I hate that. I avoid her gaze for a moment. Confident in my social deduction skills, I silently walk into Ariel’s room and sit on her bed.

She follows and sits next to Dana.

I discard my jacket. “In… a movie I like. The lead gets into an argument with his girlfriend after she helps him but also runs into an ex of hers. And this leads incidentally to a big argument about the disparity in, um…” I think of something and quickly lock the door. Just… worried. “Sort of a difference in their prior sexual experience. And I guess that they didn’t talk about it earlier? There’s like, a bunch of words exchanged about comparing numbers of earlier partners versus the ‘severity’ of what was done and… it’s all a little silly.” I shimmy out of the skirt, spiteful towards its impracticality. “I think in the back of my mind I was always annoyed. Like, okay, even if it’s a problem, you at least have someone. This can’t be worth ruining everything over. But at the same time, I accepted that those were… the terms of the world. Like not complaining a fantasy story has magic. Even though Clerks is obviously meant to be real life. I understand and took for granted what made sense as a motivation.” I take off my shirt. I begin to question what I’m doing. I thought it would be less awkward if I didn’t make a big deal of it as like, the thing I was doing. Just kept talking. I think I just look insane, though…! Can I really just stop now? This is uncomfortable. “And there’s a lot of stuff like that. Where I’m not sure what I think, compared to what I think I’m supposed to think. You just, you never make it easy for me. Not the opposite sex. Attractive. Not the same sex. Experienced. You do things and I… how do I even… Maybe that’s what I like… why I chose… you know. I’m not sure what it was you saw, though.” I remove the rest. I wrap my arms around myself. “I don’t know what to do. I never thought I’d get this far.” I just kind of sit there. I’m cold.

Ariel gets undressed and sits down next to Dana. "That’s really interesting." And then neither of them did anything but talk and sleep. ((End chapter))

"And that's the kinda thing we do, Fredrick. This touches everyone. But now we have a name."

"That’s… This isn’t the sort of platform for speculation."

"Of course. In theres nothing wrong with Belto Shelk. I love ya, buddy."

"Can we get back on track, please?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course, pal. What's your next question?"

"Er… Right. Where- Where were we?"

"Listen, Fredrick. When do you think you're gonna die?"

"When it comes." He tries to shrug uncaringly, but he’s still visibly shaken.

"Mhm. But it comes, right? You only got so much time left, man. How has your week been, man? Had a good week?"

"Not particularly."

"Well what's it gonna be like, man? You got- you got how many weeks left? Maybe just a few hundred, and they're all gonna pass. There's no going back, Fredrick."

"I think I’m free to live however I want."

"That's the truth of it all, Fredrick. We can fit into our habits, do what we think we want, do what they expect us to do, or we can do what we want. We can make our own futures. We can bring it all to pass."

"So that’s your message to the people?"

"Yeah. Just think about it."

"Just… Be free? Why be free under your name, then?"

"We're a good spiritual home for the enlightened."

"Wouldn’t the government say the same?"

"The government have had their time, and theyve made this world how it is. We just want to tip the scales."

"How so?"

"End the plight of the suffering."

"And how are you gonna do that? All you’ve said is that you’re going to make things worse for everyone."

"You've gotta take things back to make it so that anybody has anything!"

"What?"

"To make it equitable to humans around the earth, we have to take shit back! Stick it to the man!"

"Wouldn’t everyone just starve?"

"People have lived off the Earth for millennia, Fredrick, I mean neither of us can deny that. The earth provides, time and time again."

"But you’re advocating for us to be rid of everything!"

"Not everything, not every thing. See, I don't want words put in my mouth. We just want to fight back. Punch a few holes in the system. We just want to be heard."

"You’re so vague though. What are those holes?"

"Fungusers, I want you to swarm at this address." He gives the address of the office. "It is here that I will give my first sermon. I'll see you there."

((This office?))

yes

"Hey, not here!"

"Right here at this office. You can ask Fredrick why he's given me these questions."

"Absolutely not. Security will kick them out. People, don’t listen to this lunatic."

"It'll be incredible! They'll show you how media is made."

"No we will not! Is this a joke to you, Fungus?"

"Is it really all a joke, though?"

"You think you can just come on here and make a mockery of us? That you can start blasting accusations about my daughter's murder? To go and claim she’s fucking her therapist? Is that what the fungus stands for?"

"Make a mockery of you? You've made a mockery of yourself, Fredrick. You really think anybody gives a shit?"

8:52 PM

"You really think it was ever in your hands to begin with?"

"You think anybody gives a shit about you? Rich kid with all the money in the world preaching to people they should give up what they have!"

"Money? Show me my money. Show me my house. Show me my riches. You think you're speaking from anywhere? You live at-" Grobber says the address where he watched Fredrick. "You think you can say I live in richness? I eat fucking frozen pizza and Panda Express in my childhood bedroom of the house my parents bought in the '80s!"

"And who’s fault is that, huh? Did someone force you to waste the inheritance money? Did society make you suffer? No, you’re the problem! You’re always the problem!"

"You think I ever wanted this? No. It chose me. I just saw it as it was! I'm just speaking about it as it is."

"What chose you? Gluttony?"

"I was chosen by THE FUNGUS! And it SPREADS!"

"You’re delusional! You poisoned Grace, didn’t you? You… You ruined her! You kept her from home, you got her addicted, you’re the devil on her shoulder! You broke her, didn’t you? You’re a fucking curse!"

"L-Last I saw Grace she was with you. We rode it out for years completely fine. Just a couple days after she stays behind in your office, she ends up dead. I'm not the curse, I'm the cure."

"You think she was fine then? She was broken! Shattered! A shadow of her former self! She ran back to me, but it was too late. Because no one can cure being close to you, can they? I took pity on you, gave you a message to send to the people… And you’ve done nothing but bite the hand that feeds you!"

"Grace wanted to be the Fungus, she was so desperate she took the account and posted on it while she was still alive! Even when I was gone, she understood that The Fungus needed to carry on. And then she was killed. After a few days of investigating a conspiracy that led back to you! I wonder..."

He gets up and glares at Grobber for a few moments before speaking. "You ever hear of that story, the scorpion and the frog? The scorpion dooms them both because even when he stands only to lose, poisoning others is all he knows. All he can do. I think you’re our scorpion, Fungus."

"Alright, friend. Good luck with your other daughter. Hopefully your influence on her doesn't lead her to turn out like Grace... again?"

Fredrick lunges at him, and the crew immediately cut the cameras.

Grobber attempts to back out of the way of the first attack.

((Roll))

10.

Grobber is hit, but crew members immediately pull Fredrick off of him. "You son of a bitch!"

"Safe for TV, huh? You think you're working after this? You think you have a job? You think you can feed your family?"

"It’ll move on. It always does." Fredrick. "Sir, please leave." Security tells this to Grobber.

Grobber adjusts his shirt. "I think I can speak from here."

"Please leave, or we’ll have to remove you." Security.

Grobber slowly steps out of the film set.

People are gathering outside the building.

Grobber finds a place to stand up a little higher and stands on it.

They look up at him.

"...I was just forced out of there. They removed me. I was attempting to speak the truth, then I was attacked, and now they removed me. I wonder what's inside that they're trying to hide from us!"

((End session))

((Saturday))

They’re listening.

"I wanted to ask you. Haven't you all noticed that every day is the same? That you just keep on doing the same behaviors, over and over, like an ape in a zoo? That the status quo never really changes, things just get worse and worse?"

"Yeah!!!"

"They're keeping the common man down on purpose! Today, I wanted to introduce you to one of the greatest architects of society that keeps the common person down: the media!" (edited)

"Yeah!!!!!"

"Big conglomerates like this, they're just bread and circuses for the masses! Did you see what happened when people started to report on the truth? I'd stake everything on it."

"Yeah!!!!!!"

"And the owner had me arrested for a crime I didn't commit! Motherfucker knew what he was doing! They will result to using violence to remove us!"

"It’s resort, but yeah!!!!!"

"...but, well.." Grobber sits on the edge of the podium. "There is a problem. I can't do anything about it. Not alone."

They listen eagerly.

"...They got me in chains here, I mean chains! They put me in prison. But I'm just saying. They can't get all of us."

"Yeah!"

Grobber walks to the entrance of the station. "Let me in! Please!"

The crowd charges in.

Grobber strolls inside and attempts to go back to the room where the operating equipment is.

The security is too busy with the crowd to stop him. He arrives there without issue.

He attempts to turn the broadcast back on.

((Roll))

15.

Grobber turns the camera on.

Is he live? (edited)

To his knowledge.

"Alright." He stands in front of the camera. "Alright everyone. I've been peacefully let inside, and I am declaring this station FUNGAL TV. WELCOME TO FUNGAL! This is our first ever programming block, and I've decided that I want to reach out. Talk to the people. Go ahead and tweet me at @FungalMessiah."

4:24 PM

"I'll answer your questions."

What feels like a million question pop in.

Grobber will read them in the order they have the most likes.

4:29 PM

"If you look at my birth certificate, right there, on my name, is Grobber Brentwood, yeah."

4:32 PM

"Wight's daughter and I were soul partners. Her loss... it has left me fractured. We were deeply close. Our relationship was... not just physical."

"Sh-iiit, yeah. Carolyn Blythe is a therapist. Or, at least, that's her day job, heh. In reality, Carolyn Blythe is a strong soldier of the Fungus, whether she believes it or not. Her dad's Ed, like. The Edlightenment guy. The suicide guy. I think she has a similar thing going on? Like, she'll take people in until they reach some high point, and then she'll kill them. Or she'll make them kill themselves? It's all an adherence to some trivial ideology, parental issues, and an inability to legitimately engage with people on human grounds. She has shown so many people the light- she has awakened so many to the misery all around us. So, all in all, very, very Fungal. She ran her game on this Michelle girl, and then Grace kind of slipped into her hands. She was also working with Gus Amon for a while, until he died as well? For all I know, that could have been Carolyn too. Of course, she did take my life partner away. I am... deeply mortified by this loss. I have some cross words for her." (edited)

"All it took was one bad day. I lost everything. And then I saw how little it always meant."

5:11 PM

"The Joker was very Fungal, very ahead of his time, that's for sure. But the Joker was trivial. I'm something bigger. Also, the Joker didn't have powers. I have powers."

5:13 PM

"I'm afraid that is a Fungal secret for another day. But when you give to the Fungus, the Fungus will give in return."

5:15 PM

Grobber purses his lips at his phone, then air-jerks for a few strokes before resting his hand on his thigh. (edited)

5:17 PM

"It's just like art. You know, sometimes you see something, and that's. Good. It's bad. That's Punk. That's Jazz. That's Emo. Saying something is 'Fungal' is an artistic statement. It is a sign of class. Batman is so, very fungal. Superman? Not so much. That's why Batman outsells Superman. Hip-hop? Fungal for sure. Country? Not Fungal. You see, when you are with the Fungus it ingrains itself all the way down. To know Fungal is to Know the Fungus."

5:21 PM

Grobber coughs a few moments, before looking up what JohnsFilms is.

The YouTube name for Jackson Day up until his death. The channel he and 8 others share is called Team 9.

What kind of stuff did Jackson Day make?

Prank videos.

Were they mean? How big was his following?

Very popular. They seem very invasive but in stupid ways.

"Yes, JohnsFilms is Fungal. Fun fact: I actually met Bob Smith in the clink. Great guy. He's a Fungushead for sure. He beat the shit out of me."

5:31 PM

"Bob Smith, or should I say- The Elusive Sentasaurus!" Grobber subtly mimes jacking off again. (edited)

Grobber has run out of useful questions.

"Hah, well, I'm glad that I could tap a live wire into you. This is our moment. You and me. Together. I'll see you soon." Grobber walks away to check the status of the building.

Seems like the police are arriving.

Grobber nods to himself, cracks his neck. "HEY! THEY HAVE GUNS! SOMEONE KEEP A CAMERA ON THEM SO THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING DANGEROUS!" He descends down, and takes a dominant, defiant pose in the lobby.

The crowd starts filming the police.

"What are you pigs doing! Here to shoot us? To stab us? To pull the rope around the neck of society so the dick can get off just a little harder?"

"You’re all under arrest for trespassing."

"We've RECLAIMED! this land! This is ours! We ought to be able to tell our truth! You can't take it away from us! Everybody is Still Listening! Everybody wants to listen! Please!"

"Surrender or there will be consequences!"

Grobber bares his chest out. "This is our place Our rightful home! A-and I'll defend it!"

They take out guns.

Grobber puts his hand out. "Stop! You will be cursed by the Fungus!"

A bullet grazes his side.

"You don't understand... I'll do anything..."

"This is your last warning!"

Grobber stands tall, and leans forward. "IT GROWS!"

((End session))

((Saturday))

A detective Grobber would recognize as Howard Scott from the Michelle case files stepped through the cops. "Calm down! Everyone, let’s calm down here."

He looks like this.

Grobber bares his chest a little bit more, before sighing and returning to his original position. "Yes, yes! There is a peaceful way out of this!"

"The fungus, right?" Howard looked at Grobber.

"Yeah. Fungus speaking."

Howard looked him up and down."Underwhelming."

"We're a decentralized movement. I'm just the mouthpiece."

"This building isn't yours. I'm gonna have to kindly ask you to leave."

"Where did Fredrick Wight go? We have questions for him."

"I'm not gonna answer that. If you'd let these people get back to work, I'm sure you'll be able to reach him on his work email."

"You think I'd freely trust you? You represent the side that was just about to slaughter us! You just want our blood to soil the streets!"

"...Heh. And isn't that so fungal of me?" He smirked sarcastically.

Grobber looks around. "I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to lead these people out of here so you can put us all in chains."

"Look... I'm fine with believing you're dumb enough to mean well here... But if you don't disperse, these people really are going to have to hurt you. You really sure you'd rather die than be in these chains?"

"I'd rather die standing than live kneeling. But I cannot wager on the lives of the people around me."

"Yes, you can. That's what a leader does. You tell everyone when and where to die."

"...A leader? Hm." He swallows. "I'm gonna be real with you. I-I'm. Like. Howard Scott, this is Grobber Brentwood speaking. I can't leave until the fate of these people has been clarified. I just can't."

"Then you’d better tell 'em to run quick."

Grobber turns around to the crowd. "Fellas. Fungi. Lords, ladies, and other esteemed peers. My fellows. I hope you had some fun. Some of us will have a date. But most of you will make it out. You know, anybody could start something. We all have the power to wrest it into our arms. The system is so strong, but it is really so weak. Any of us could make a difference." He turns back around to Howard. "SCATTER!" He runs directly to the line of police.

The people scatter run away. Howard moves aside.

What are the police doing?

They’re just watching Grobber for now.

Is anybody chasing the scattering crowd?

They seem like they want to, but Howard is keeping them in line.

Grobber will watch them leave for at least half a minute before turning around to the cops. "Well?"

Howard opens a door on the back of a police car. "Get in."

Grobber extends his hands in fists to Howard, with an expression of offering on his face.

"Just get in."

Grobber looks around. Is any of the crowd still around?

They’re gone.

Grobber gets in the back of the police car.

Howard shuts the door and starts driving.

"Did James have a hair appointment?"

"You really sure you want to talk to her again? Last I heard, she was talking about asking for the death sentence with you."

"Oh my god, really!?" Grobber lurches forward, barely trying to maintain disgusting, wet laughter. "I-I'm sorry. I-I-" He laughs for a few uninterrupted moments. "I know this must be so insufferably aloof from this perspective. It's just that-" He laughs some more. "Oh my god. The death penalty? She is an unreasonably easy woman to upset."

"She’s always so wound up. Not really a powerful brag to say you pissed her off."

"Like I said- it's about her being easy. I'm not- Listen, I don't think I'm some kind of- I'm just a guy, right? Like... I am under no... I'm just a dude."

"Some kind of what?"

"Some kind of god."

"Heh."

"You asked, pal. You hear anything about some mobster dying?"

"You could say that. What about it?"

"Nice. I'm surprised they actually managed to do it."

"You know… This actually does bring me to my main topic. That guy isn’t the big boss here."

"...It's not Jeff Johnner? Or it's not... Shuichi Maoziwam? Or it's not.... Belto Shelk?"

"Huh. You’re smarter than you look, I guess. The guy at the top is Shuichi Maoziwam."

"Yeah. Shuichi has Johnner and Gus working for him, and they were funneling money to... something? Gus siphoned it from Sean Niebel and I. Gus and Johnner have been put out of the picture. So now it's Shuichi... doing what?"

"That… I don’t know. But I’m an opportunist." Howard pulled over in front of Grobber’s house. "And you sound perfect for this."

"Perfect for what?"

"To stop Shuichi Maoziwam. He’s rich. He’s got a million tricks up his sleeve. He’s got most cops too, I wager. But you’ve got what he’ll never have. People who want to follow you. And that can do some real damage."

"...So you just want me t-to take down Shuichi Maoziwam? That's- that's it? That's.... that's all I have to do?"

"I’ll handle the last stretch. But yeah, pretty much. In exchange, I’ll get those cops out of your house."

"Okay. We're all in on Maoziwam. That's the plan."

Howard got out and opened Grobber's door. "Good luck."

"Yeah. Thanks." Grobber stands up and gets out of the car.

3:57 PM

He stretches and looks to his house.

There are a few cops still there. Howard approached. "Pack it up, boys. You’ve seen everything you need to already."

Grobber takes a moment to check how the Fungus is doing on social media right now. Are people talking about it?

Everyone is talking about it.

He gives a happy sigh and goes to Fritz's house.

Fritz isn’t home.

"Hm." He checks the time as he walks back to his house.

It’s getting very late.

Grobber checks his phone and decides to call Dana.

She doesn’t pick up.

4:17 PM

The cops have left his house. Howard’s face is slightly bruised, but he’s as smirking as ever. (edited)

Did they fucking

4:17 PM

Beat him up?

4:17 PM

What?

4:17 PM

Grobber goes up to Howard. "What the hell happened?"

"You could say the others don’t like me very much. Usually they stick to words, but I guess I’ve been pushing my luck lately."

"...I hope your house stays in order, man. Good luck out there. Thanks for the help." He takes a few steps to his house.

"See ya, Fungus." Howard got into his car.

He goes into the house and takes a look around.

There’s a chalk outline of a body in the living room.

Grobber swallows and sits down next to it. What is it doing?

It’s pose isn’t noteworthy, but it has no clear head outline.

He looks at it and takes a deep breath in. Is there a rug anywhere in the house?

((Your choice))

He takes a large rug and puts it over the chalk outline, then breathes out. Any other changes?

It’s clear the police have searched through the place, but the only thing missing in the entire house is the special bong.

". . ."

4:27 PM

"Hm."

4:28 PM

He goes to his computer and sits down.

The computer is unaltered.

"Fantastic. The altar..."

4:38 PM

He goes to his bed and lays down in it, staring at the ceiling.

This happens.

He puts his hands behind his head. "...No. It's fine. It's fine."

4:52 PM

"..."

4:52 PM

"..."

4:53 PM

"So cold..."

4:53 PM

Grobber gets out of bed and goes to the thermostat and turns it up a few degrees.

The house becomes warmer.

He goes back to the living room and moves the rug. Is there any blood anywhere? Anything that is moved in seems more substantive than having just been searched through?

The blood has soaked into the floor.

Where is it in relation to the body? Did any get on the walls?

It’s around the head. It got onto the wall too.

Grobber stands on the other side of the chalk outline from where the blood is, where the shooter would be standing. He holds his arm outstretched, mimicking a gun's shape like a child. He pulls the trigger.

5:01 PM

"..."

He’s standing to her side.

"No mysteries left. Nothing to be done. It's all been done for me. All used up. Used up..."

5:07 PM

He puts the rug back and goes back to his room, but he stops at the door.

5:08 PM

Without turning any lights on, he navigates to his parents' room, opens the door, and gets in bed.

His parents' room is the same as ever.

((Wait were you trying to say he’s sleeping))

Grobber swallows and goes to bed.

((End chapter))

A while later, this man comes to visit him.

"...Hello?"

He sighs. "What the hell did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where is Shawn Duveldt?"

Who the fuck is Sean Duveldt? Is that what this guy came to ask? "Do you expect me to know the answer to this?" (edited)

"You should. You're the one who let him run free."

"...Was I?"

He waits a moment before smirking. "Couldn't help but notice... That mall he blew up, it was taking up the land where your restaurant first started, wasn't it?"

"Oh. Sean blew up a mall? Was his name in the news?"

"...It was supposed to be." He pauses, thinking something over. "But I suppose adaptation is part of life, no?"

What? "Are you with the police or something?"

"Heh. Detective Howard Scott. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Then you should know I wasn't arrested for any mall-related shenanigans."

"Goodnight, Mr Stanley. I’m not risking another prison transfer, so you can sleep there." He walked away.

"..." Is there anyone else in the cell? Are there actual beds?

It’s just a bench. This particular holding cell is empty.

Then he decides to sleep.

((End chapter))

((Hi))

"Hello. I believe I'm speaking to Lelouch Maoziwam?" He says this over the phone from Belto Shelk Memorial Highschool.

"Yes, this is her, and you are?"

"Alex Zeety. ...I'm not speaking on behalf of this school, however. You see, some events or another occurred here, and I found the result to be... Quite unexpected, for lack of a better word."

"And? What does that have to do with me?"

"That was you, wasn't it? My theory is you must've used some 'item' given to you by someone else. You could say I'm aware of that entire matter."

"Hm? Oh. Oh, yea, I did do that." Lelouch mumbles. "Anyway, so what? I don't see any importance or relevance in my highschool."

2:19 PM

"Or talking to you, for that matter."

"There isn't, you're right. The high school doesn't actually matter." He pauses. "However, I'm interested in working something out, and I might have some information you might be interested in as well. As it comes to... Sophie Wight, Ehn, and a few others, at least. I assume you're familiar with those names. Or maybe you think you know the entire story already. I'm sure lots has happened in the past few days, after all."

"...Well, if you have information, why not share it?"

"Well, I'm not just going to tell you everything up front. That would be a waste. I would at least want to ask something in return."

"Ugh, fine. What do you want in return, then?"

"Well, there's a few things I'm curious about myself. I'm sure you've seen things over the past few days which I want to understand. So, there's two things. First, I want to know the names of any other people you know have received 'items' from Ehn as well. Second, I'd like to meet up with you and whatever group you're a part of, if any. I don't plan on doing much of anything, but I do want to follow along to wherever you were planning to go. It'll also make it easier for me to talk through everything. So, should I go to where you are, or do you want to come to the school?"

"Well, I've no idea if Ehn's given anyone else items, so that answers your first question. Before I answer the second one, allow me a moment."

He waits. Maybe I overestimated how much anyone knows about anything? (edited)

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 10/7/2023 2:48 PM

"Alright, we'll be able to meet you. We'll come to the school."

"Fair enough."

"Mhm. See you soon." Lelouch keeps her sentence short as she ends the phone call.

Sam is still in the front office.

That was something. Maybe I underestimated how much people I know are aware of anything. ...That aside, should I meet them outside? It's not fun to stick around in this building, and I don't think I have any other calls I can make within the narrow time window before she arrives. Getting in contact with Shawn and Ray could be helpful, but I don't know how easy that is. Maybe I could try anyway? If I have to call Sophie at some point, it might be good to stay here, though. I suppose staying here may be the best call after all. Whatever. I have time. I'll just hang up if I get visitors before then. Sam calls Ray's phone number.

No answer.

Maybe not. ...As interesting as it might be in some other situation, I imagine calling one of Shawn's parents would lead to a horribly long-winded conversation with not much to gain. Instead, I should just figure out how soon I expect people to show up. Sam exits the front office and looks to see if anyone is coming in the direction of the school.

A car approaches.

That was quick. I suppose not everyone is keen on walking to school. Sam steps outside and waits at the front entrance.

Naomi steps out of the car.

Oh. What could she be doing here right now? Is school going on still at all? This is a bad approach, actually. I should instead think about why this event came to pass. Maybe I wasn't supposed to meet up with Lelouch at all. That still means it's worth attempting, though, isn't it? Ideally, I'm not the only person who has a part of play in this narrative who's bound to show up. Has she noticed him yet?

"Sam! Good, you’re done with school."

"...Exactly. I did go after all. Hopefully, Stan told you about what happened when I was gone. ...But I came to tell you I might want to stay after for some club meeting with someone. I'll be around the school for longer, don't worry." This probably won't work.

"No. Come with me. I told you, didn’t I? You’re working for me now. As repayment for that stunt you pulled."

Well, now's my chance to stall this out. "Didn't we explicitly discuss that there was nothing I could be doing right now? Plus, the school is in a situation which you might want to look into. I believe one of the teachers wanted to talk to you."

"Sam, don’t treat me like an idiot. I’m your mother. Obviously I’m smarter than you. Get in the car."

"I'm not. I've only ever made valid statements." He runs into the school and finds his way to some classroom. Or, tries to, at least.

"Sam, get back here!" She follows.

He looks for a classroom with people in it and enters. If there isn't one, he just looks for people. There's probably not enough time to find the specific one he was supposed to be in. It's strange. Sophie was running around trying to escape the school. Now I'm running around trying to stay in the school. I don't know why I was allowed to do this in the first place, though. As long as I'm the only one here, this shouldn't be possible. Ehn most likely wanted me to get out of here. Did Shawn or someone else happen to come here at some point? Or is there another factor I'm missing?

((Roll))

((13))

Sam successfully enters a classroom. They’re learning about Lelouch Maoziwam.

Perfect. People are still in class. This basically proves my point. Actually, what if I just stayed here? Would that count as still being in class? Maybe that would solve some problem. But I don't know if I could actually meet with Lelouch at that point. At the same time, if she shows up, what will happen to the people here? Will they all go to try and find her? I'll wait a bit. It's worth thinking about, though. Sam pays attention to learn what information is being said about Lelouch Maoziwam.

They’re just talking about how pretty and smart she is, along with various other compliments. These people are all clearly romantically attracted to her.

Valueless conversation. I genuinely wonder why Lelouch wanted this. Unfortunately, as much as it annoys me that people here, some of which could've been interesting, were changed to be this way, I'll have to play along with it if I want any hope of turning this situation around. Whatever she did is no joke, so I have to be careful myself. However, it's still objectively better than dealing with whatever direction I was supposed to take with Naomi, as that was probably the intended narrative. Let's see... Sam whispers to some random student. "Hey, I heard that Lelouch might be stopping by the school soon."

"Really?"

"It's true. I was outside for a little while and heard some other students talking about this."

"Woah…"

...I was considering dragging out this conversation, but this isn't of much interest. I should get to executing some plan, whatever that may be. Is it possible at all that Naomi was trapped inside the school like Sophie was? But I can't take chances, and I never have. "What if we told everyone this and went into the hallways to look?"

"We can’t do that."

"Oh, sorry. What about the teacher? It could be a field trip of sorts."

"We have to listen to the class."

"I agree. But what if the class went out together?"

"We can’t do that."

"Right." This is going nowhere. Were the instructions she gave specifically to stay in class? That's quite annoying. I'll have to make Naomi come here rather than the other way around. Or wait to see if Lelouch actually arrives. Sam steps out of the classroom, but keeps the door open and stays next to it. He looks to see if anyone in coming in whatever direction.

Lelouch and a green haired girl wearing a maid outfit are talking to Naomi in the hallway.

Hm... they're in the same location. Even if I get Naomi to come over here, how likely is it for me to be able to get the class to do anything? It should be a last resort. But I'll be prepared. Sam walks up to them, but keeps a bit of distance.

"Oh, Sam!" Lelouch calls out.

Lelouch presses mute on the phone, looking to Jade. "So, there's this guy called Alex Zeety who's aware of Ehn and that we gassed the school. He's asking to meet up with us, but I'm not sure. What do you think, Jade?"

"We can just spray him there. It’s no problem."

"Alright." Lelouch nods.

3:02 PM

Lelouch unmutes.

3:06 PM

"Okay, so, we're heading to the highschool." Lelouch informs.

"Got it."

Lelouch presses the button to go down. (Ignore this if she's already done this).

They’re already on the ground floor.

In that case, Lelouch makes her way to the exit).

Lelouch is now outside.

Lelouch makes her way to the school.

(Do I go to #lelouch-and-sam or have i missed something

)

Lelouch and Jade arrive at school.

"Doesn't look like anything's changed too much. Do you think the guy's inside?"

"They should all be controlled, anyway."

Lelouch enters the school.

There’s an adult woman looking around.

"Excuse me, are you Alex Zeety?"

"What?"

"Are you Alex Zeety?" She repeats.

"No. My name is Naomi Kidink." "Like Sam?" Jade.

Lelouch looks to Naomi, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, have you seen him?" Naomi.

"No, we're looking for Alex Zeety. I don't know what they look like, but we agreed to meet them at the school. Have you seen anyone around?"

"Oh, that’s one of his stupid names, isn’t it? I heard he was called Alex when he was running away." Naomi. "Sam… Wants to see Ms Lelouch about Sophie? Does he want to finish the job?" Jade.

"Oh. It's Sam?" Lelouch rolls her eyes. "Jade, make sure you've got the perfume at hand in case he wants to attack. If he's got Sophie with him, we can save her from another coma."

"Attack? Don’t be ridiculous. He’s as lazy as they come. Where were you supposed to meet him?"

"Well, he just said to meet him at the school."

Sam steps out of a classroom down the hall.

"Oh, Sam!" Lelouch calls out.

Sam approaches but keeps a bit of a distance.

"There you are." Naomi approaches Sam.

I figured they would've exchanged information by this point. That's okay, though. "So you came." He says this to Lelouch and just ignores Naomi. "Let's get the details out of the way, the mystery doesn't matter at this point. I called myself Alex Zeety over the phone because I needed a cover and I'm not sure you would've come here otherwise. But that's me. I have the information. Unfortunately, it's not easy for me to say much of anything while Naomi is around trying to find me. It seems she got caught in this school at some point, but for some reason didn't get put under the same conditions as everyone else in the school, and it would be a shame if someone here didn't understand Lelouch Maoziwam. Could we somehow get her out of this conversation?"

Naomi grabs him by the wrist.

"Jade, spray her."

"Really? Her and not him?" Jade, presumably.

Lelouch thinks for a second, before saying, "actually, yea, both of them."

Curious. This could be the aforementioned 'item'. Maybe I should try to get out? Or will being affected by it be helpful to my knowledge? Either could be the case. I want to see what she says, though. "Well, you know, I wouldn't be of much help if you're doing what I think you are. Either way is fine, of course." He tries to break free of Naomi at this point anyway.

((Roll))

((8))

Sam does not break free. "Don’t make me pull, Sam." Naomi. Jade approaches with a bottle of perfume.

Fine. I suppose I'm not strong enough. But that's okay, I'll refuse to use items myself as long as it takes. It is therefore far superior to let things happen as they are. Lelouch seemingly wants to take control of things, so if it benefits me and gets me out of my story, then maybe this will be great. "Okay. Then how about we wait here? This should be interesting." Sam does in fact just stay there and wait for Jade to come over.

((Channel split))

Lelouch is hit in the back of the head with a chair and crumples the the ground, unconscious. Sophie is standing behind her, still holding the chair. "Ms Lelouch!" Jade turns around.

Huh? Was I wrong? Why was Lelouch knocked out at this point? Shouldn't the flow of events have been disrupted already, or were events just forced in an absurd way to conform to this setting? And why did Sophie come back to the school? Was she looking for Lelouch? I can only assume she wasn't supposed to be here, and unfortunately things went the other way as a result. Sam glances at the scene. "...Are you going to do something, Jade?"

Sophie keeps hitting Lelouch with a chair. "This! Is! What! You! Get!" "Are these the kind of people you go to school with? No wonder you turned out so bad. I need a serious discussion with the school board." Naomi. Jade rushes towards Lelouch.

"I told you the teacher wanted to see you. Maybe all the kids these days are as bad as me, don't you think? Why don't you break it up?" To Naomi. Sam just continues to stare at the scene. "Well, I did say I'd meet with Lelouch." He offhandedly says this to Sophie, though doesn't expect a response. It's not the worst issue if Sophie keeps doing this. But I might really be stuck in whatever situation I was meant to because of it. Sophie too is stuck in this narrative plot. While it's nice that she's getting what she wanted, in the greater scheme, this may be problematic.

Sophie gets tired and drops the chair, as Jade tackles her to the ground.

"Well, it's difficult for me to do much, as you can see." He comments on the scene some more, not even talking to any particular person at this point.

Sophie and Jade have a very unimpressive fight while rolling around on the floor. "Come on, we’re leaving." Naomi.

I wonder if I need to do something greater to break out of the situation in the future? "What? You don't want to do anything about this very serious issue?"

"Girls will be girls." She shrugs performatively, despite getting the saying wrong. "I’m not a teacher here or either of their parents. I don’t interact with children if I don’t have to."

"You're right. There's a lot you don't have to do. Maybe it's better to take a step back." "Anyway, I got something I came here for. Unless you want to confiscate more items like that bottle she was holding, we should just go."

"That’s what I keep saying." Naomi stops gripping him arm and walks towards the exit. Jade pins Sophie to the ground triumphantly and takes out the perfume bottle. "You’ll… Pay." "Leave me alone!" Sophie.

This is probably the last chance if I want to do anything about this situation. Actually, if I ran in right now, would I still end up getting hit? That could solve all the issues. The problem is that I actually believe I have a chance of escaping whatever I was supposed to do before I ran back into the school. I wonder about that. In fact, the only reason I wouldn't turn back at this point is because I'm worried it would make things worse if I failed as far as Naomi's responses to me go. But that's not true, is it? If that event is guaranteed to happen barring no other changes, then she's not going to be any more or less annoyed regardless of what I do. I should've realized this way before the past few days, honestly. If I succeed, then the result is beneficial. If I fail, then nothing actually changes, does it? Sam rushes in and attempts to push Jade out of the way. (edited)

((Roll))

((2))

Sam completely fails to push Jade away. Jade suddenly leans forward and kisses Sophie. Sophie looks incredibly confused. The perfume bottle rolls to the side slowly.

I'm not entirely convinced Jade is anything like Autumn. Anyway... Sam picks up the bottle and just inspects it.

It looks like a normal perfume bottle. It’s full.

Didn't Jade just use it? I assume it just always stays full, much like the fish always complete unless drastic measures are taken. Sam waits to see what happens next between everyone who is here.

Jade passes out. "What… the fuck?" Sophie pushes her off.

He walks over to the other side so that Sophie and Jade are in-between him and Naomi. "I'm as confused as you are. At least on this specific point."

Sophie gets up and wipes her lips. "…You’re welcome. Probably. I didn’t do it for you, I’m just asking for a thanks here."

"Well, this isn't exactly what I was hoping would happen, but I can work with this, at least. I think. Thanks." He says this.

Naomi returns. "What now?" "…Is that your mom?" Sophie.

"Probably."

"Probably?" They both say this in confusion.

Sam sighs. "Should we just do what was going to happen earlier? I don't know anything about how this works, but it's worth a try." He goes and sprays Naomi with the perfume bottle. "Just leave me alone. That's all. If this works, then I won't ask for anything else. If it doesn't, then whatever, it was bound to fail anyway."

She coughs. "What on earth was that?" "Are you seriously trying to copy Lelouch? What the hell is wrong with you?" Sophie approaches them.

Well, I suppose there's no way I could've figured out exactly how it works this quickly. "...Nothing. I wanted to figure out the trick she used to put the school in the state it's in. Supposedly, it's something to do with this bottle, but I couldn't make it work. Maybe it has to be Jade who uses it." "But if you want to try, I can give it to you." He says this to Sophie. "Otherwise... I'll try using it on myself." He points the bottle towards him, but does nothing.

Sophie grabs the bottle from him. "Stop it!" (edited)

"Fine, alright. Maybe you'll get some use out of it. Try using it on someone." Ehn never mentioned Jade, but mentioned Lelouch, so I still don't think I can assume the object was assigned to Jade instead. Therefore, perhaps it's only people Lelouch wants to be able to use it? In that case, Sophie might fall under that category.

"If you think this thing can brainwash people, why are you trying to use it? Do you really think anyone deserves to choose for someone else? That you, me, or anyone deserves to play god?" Sophie. Naomi is watching this in confusion.

"Not at all! I wanted to use it once to prove a point. I was going to give it to you afterwards regardless of whether it would've worked on myself. In an ideal world, everyone would be allowed to go about their daily lives as usual. ...But there are some people who want to stop this from happening. And that reduces the number of interesting things which happen. Wouldn't you rather get freedom for yourself and many others, or remained tethered to whatever situation you were forced into at home?"

Sophie’s expression changes to shock. "…Is that what this is about? You just want to get away from her?" (edited)

"...That's what I've been up to the entire time, isn't it? It's definitely one of my main goals. Isn't what you want in your situation similar?"

"Even so, I wouldn’t stoop to brainwashing my father. I know I can be… difficult. But I’m not an evil person, contrary to popular belief. Just call child protective services or something." Sophie. "I raise you all these years and you won’t even give me the courtesy of paying that back. Even more than that, you want to get away from me more than anything? What did I ever do to deserve this!?" Naomi looks like she’s going to cry.

"...I never thought you were a bad person, Sophie. However, I've tried a lot of things already. You know what's going on in this city? Probably not, but regardless, when I ran off for a few days, you know who made me come back? It was some police officers associated with Avengard. ...My point is, that's a nice solution in theory, but wouldn't solve any of the problems. Not that this conversation is really relevant to the greater scope of what's going on in this city, but I am open to resolving personal problems when they're here. And here we are." "...Surely you've tried calling on child protective services yourself, right?" But that's not what happens in this 'story'. No vague governmental entity is saving anyone as long as we're trapped in this 'narrative'. I tried it before I left Avengard in the shootout with Jackson Day. The police are forced to either be incompetent or cause problems.

Sophie sighs. "When in Rome…" She mutters. "What?" Naomi. Sophie sprays Naomi with the perfume.

"...Do as the Romans do." ((do you want to stop soon. definitely a little tired)) (edited)

((I will yeah))

6:47 PM

"Will you stop spraying me with that awful perfume?" Naomi fans it away, towards Sam and Sophie.

"Hey, I didn't buy it." You know, aside from whether it works or not, it's a funny distraction. "I suppose it requires Jade or Lelouch to use it. How annoying." To Sophie.

6:50 PM

"Though, maybe it's because you haven't said anything? I don't know. Probably not."

Sam smells the perfume as it’s fanned in its face. Sophie reacts similarly.

6:53 PM

Sam is now madly in love with Sophie Wight. He is so in love that he is completely incapable of disobeying any order Sophie gives him. This transcends sexual orientation.((So don’t worry about whatever you had in mind for Sam)) He cannot directly state this, so as to not make Sophie uncomfortable naturally, but this is an emotion that compels him no matter what until it wears off((I’ll tell you when)). Sam does not see this as an unnatural development or suspicious at all.

...Maybe this too was inevitable? He makes no other comments at this time and waits for someone to say something.

Sophie looks at Sam strangely.

Sam looks at her. "Well, I... Should probably go. ...It's the best thing we can do here. This conversation is over."

"…Right. See you tomorrow." Sophie nods. "Finally. Come on, Sam." Naomi.

He leaves with Naomi without saying anything else.

Naomi leads him to the car.

Sam gets in the car.

She drives away. ((End session))

((Saturday))

Naomi hands the container with the fish to Sam.

"...Seems weird to fixate on this when I already established it doesn't work." The mystery reminds him where he was before.

"You owe me, remember? You're going to work for me now until I've decided you paid me back."

"And how is this going to help?"

"Because I don't want you getting hurt during it."

"I don't see how this will help with that."

"...Sam." She sighed. "I was shocked too, but we both know magic is real. I've seen Bob Smith flying firsthand."

"...I know magic is real. But I tried for a while to work through the mechanics, actually. I figure you might be curious about all this. But it seems the ways in which it works are... limited, to say the least? There's a bunch of absurd rules. Sometimes things don't work for some people. Other times, nothing happens at all. I once tried dragging Bob Smith's suit out, and it didn't end up working. Things like that."

"I have it in storage right now. It's broken, but I'm sure I'll figure out how it works eventually."

"I doubt it. Chances are you'll have to wait for the event of Bob Smith breaking out of prison or otherwise getting released. Have fun, though."

"Bob Smith is not going to break free. He's been dealt with."

"Okay."

Naomi parked on the side of the road. She pointed at a building in the distance. "Do you see that?"

Hey, another random building! Maybe I'm simply unable to find useful ones without following the plot. Though, perhaps that's interesting itself. "I do see the building in the distance."

"It’s the back of the FNN building. I have a client who’s in trouble for breaking in." She handed him a ski mask. "I need you to get in there and destroy their camera records."

"What does FNN stand for?" He puts on the mask anyway.

"Freedom News Network. It’s where the Fredrick Wight show is run, if that’s not too old for you kids."

"...No, that makes sense."

"Steal some things while you’re in there. Make it look like you came for that."

"..."

"What are you waiting for? Go."

"Well, I was waiting to see if there was anything else you were going to say in this conversation." He goes to the building.

There’s only 1 visible door.

He tries to open the door.

It’s locked.

Sam knocks on the door.

No answer.

Hm... Among Ehn's bizarre requests, the objects are the most unusual point. I've been trying to tell people to avoid any usage of them for the most part, but what does that even mean? Does this actually factor into proving any points at all? The entire construct feels like a plot device, and not only that, one which doesn't even get used half the time. People who've made use of their objects have had them locked away, while people who refuse to use anything have the objects forced upon them. Ehn has blatantly set up a scenario where I'm meant to be using this specifically. Otherwise, the door would've been unlocked from the start if I was simply meant to enter via the 'plot'. But it can't mean that the objects are meant as some required solution, because otherwise Bob Smith would have his suit. So where's the dividing line? What really separates Bob Smith from me, and what point is even being proven here unless Ehn's story is just entirely inconsistent? I can't really believe that. Ehn doesn't appear incomprehensible, at least. ...On to current matters. Perhaps Naomi was never in control of this sequence of events. That's almost sad. Makes me wonder if despite the past few years, that the past few days could've turned out better otherwise. This suggests two things: One, my assumption that this wasn't the correct fish was wrong. It's possible that Ehn just swapped it out through some plot events I was unaware of and fixed it, and there was little I could do about it. Two, getting attached to anyone was a mistake for us all. But if it ends up helping... Sam takes the fish and eats it, then tries to kick down the door.

Sam gets strong and easily breaks through the door.

It worked. That confirms my greatest worry - that for some reason or another, this action was something I was intended to do. Anyway, he tries to find a map and find the room where they record things on the camera.

((Roll))

((6))

Sam does not find the camera room or a map.

He instead looks to see if there are even cameras that he can see at all.

There are definitely cameras.

Okay. He tries to go somewhere until he finds a place where they aren't in fact cameras.

Eventually Sam finds the camera room. The building is strangely empty.

And nobody's here. Someone didn't even bother to pretend that this path wasn't deliberately laid out. While I'm here, I'm curious what's so important about any of this. I might destroy it later if it's the best thing to do, but... Sam sees if it is possible to check through some of the footage and what even is there to begin with.

The most recent footage involves a crowd of people storming the place and chasing the staff out. Then after a while they go outside for some reason, led by a strange looking guy.

Probably a matter of convenience. Sam tries to find some paper and makes note of the strange looking guy. He then tries to rewind and see if anything happens before the staff get chased out.

The guy leading them is dragged out of the building by security a short while before the incident.

So that's what led to the incident. But why? Was it possible that this guy and Naomi were planning something together? He rewinds some more.

The guy was originally brought in for the show before he started a fight with the host.

...Maybe not. It could be an entirely 'unrelated' circumstance on this level. I'm sure it was part of some grander display, but as far as what Naomi wants goes, they were probably different. He rewinds some more.

Nothing noteworthy happens until the morning of yesterday, when Hav Kerloe walks in.

...Huh. So he is around. I doubt I'll be able to find him, but maybe... Sam attempts to figure out what Hav Kerloe did in this building yesterday.

He was with another man Sam didn’t recognize, and both left with the host. Only the host returned later.

What even goes on in this building? It can't just be news, right? In any case, perhaps they were on the news to talk about whatever incident led to the closure of Kerloe Fishery, then left afterwards. So really, normal occurrences are being documented. He rewinds some more instead.

They didn’t even go that far in, Hav just entered the lobby and left with the host. It takes a full 2 days before Sam reaches the reappearance of the guy leading the mob today. He breaks in with a woman Sam doesn’t recognize and gets arrested by the police.

This was... last Sunday here, I believe? I don't know these people, but there has to be something of importance here anyway. Perhaps considering all of the chaos, at least one of these people could be found at the jail? Is it even the same one? Whatever. He rewinds some more.

Nothing of note happens again until the footage cuts out 7 days ago.

That may be all. What was Naomi even concerned about here? He checks through again to see if Naomi even shows up herself at any point.

Naomi never appears.

Nothing. Could it have been someone related to her? Who does she even know? Maybe there's at least one candidate. Sam checks through again to see if Jeff Johnner shows up at any point.

He does not.

((Saturday))

Lelouch Maoziwam started a thread. 10/18/2023 11:48 PM

((Saturday))

He does not.

Unfortunately, watching this again is starting to get a little boring. ...So, who could the client be? I suppose it could only be one of the random people who appeared. Maybe it was the guy who broke in? Of everyone, he definitely caused the most trouble, even if others were involved. I wonder why the other person was breaking it? Also, who was with Mr. Kerloe? I don't know enough about the people here to figure it out. It seems all these people were set to be relevant to those other characters, and these were the consequences of that. Maybe in that case I really shouldn't delve into it too far. The part that matters here is only getting rid of the footage, and I doubt there's much else I can gain in this area. ...Maybe I could make note of this anyway. He checks to see if there's some sort of flash drive in the room.

((Roll))

((12))

Sam finds a USB key.

He then plugs it in and checks if anything is on it. If not, he saves as much as possible, starting with the most recent footage back.

It's empty. Sam is able to save a few hours of footage, just enough to capture the most recent break in.

I suppose this works. He takes the piece of paper he had earlier and flips it over and makes some notes for the rest anyway:

6:17 PM

This probably won't serve to my benefit at all, really. I just felt like it. He leaves the room and looks for some other random room in the building and tries to enter.

As Sam leaves the room, he sees many police officers entering the building.

Oh. I wonder what purpose they could be aiming for here? Either I was seen, which is definitely fair, or they for some reason paid attention to the fact that a random door was broken down despite nobody being here at all. Or I was just set up. Either way... No, wait, this line of thinking probably isn't correct. Maybe the officers were bound to arrive the moment I left the room. It's unclear how I'm supposed to respond, then. Maybe I should just try to leave without being found. I don't know if I'm supposed to succeed at this or not. He tries to find somewhere to hide.

((Roll))

((7))

A cop quickly finds Sam. "Hey, you there! What are you doing here?"

"...Someone trapped me here, and I got lost. I was trying to escape."

"Why are you wearing a mask?"

"I was forced to."

"Take it off."

"...You do it."

"What?"

"I couldn't do it myself."

The cop goes to pull off the mask.

Did I even destroy the cameras? I was going to do that at the end. Should I go back and try anyway? Even now, I keep forgetting things I shouldn't- Wait. Does that mean I've done something I wasn't supposed to? If I was meant to destroy the cameras, then after I left the room, nobody would've actually showed up. That means that I have taken actions that were not intended. Maybe, then, I have the opportunity to do something different right now, right? He just waits there for this to happen.

The mask gets pulled off. "You're just a kid."

"And that's the problem. I told you, I've been forced into this situation."

"By who?"

"...I don't know. They had a mask like this one."

"Alright. Get out of here, kid."

"Can you take me somewhere?"

"No, I have a job to do. I'm not a taxi."

"Okay. But how do I get to the exit?"

"Just walk down to the ground floor and walk out of the door."

((Saturday))

"Just walk down to the ground floor and walk out of the door."

"Okay. Where is the ground floor?" Perhaps this part doesn't matter.

"What? It's on... The ground?"

"You said to walk down to the ground floor. I don't know where the stairs are."

"Oh, okay." They give directions to the stairs.

"Okay." Figuring this conversation has run its course, he walks down to the ground floor and walks out of the door.

The back door he originally entered through or the front door?

The front door.

Sam is now outside. There are other police searching the building.

Sam looks around to see if there is anyone he might know.

Fredrick Wight from the camera videos is waiting outside, along with other crew members.

Not anyone important. I figure they're probably just doing whatever they usually want to do. Or trying, in any case. I'm starting to realize this part of the exercise is largely pointless, even though I made a change. If I talked to Fredrick Wight, it's not like he would know me. So, what then? He just waits there to see what happens next.

The crew are eventually allowed back in. Sam is left alone outside.

Interestingly, Naomi hasn't shown up in this area yet. I'm not sure why. Maybe she just doesn't want to go around to the front? It's not exactly clear what this sequence of events implies. Perhaps I'm starting to lose sight of not only the plot I was meant to be on, but of my own goals in this sense. But I have time, don't I? He continues waiting. If nothing happens still, he re-enters the building.

Security stops him. "Who are you?"

"...Alex Zeety. Was there an incident here earlier, by any chance?"

"Yes, but it's over with. Goodbye now."

As I said, this is interesting. If nothing else happened, there's no reason that I should've been allowed to do this. Maybe I can keep waiting. "What do you do around here, anyway?"

"Get out, or we'll have to escort you out."

...I don't get it. He does leave, then just waits longer to see if anything new happens.

Nothing happens.

What will happen the moment I leave now? This makes no sense anymore. Maybe I should check if it's been long enough to cause some sort of problem. But I'm unclear on the path this could accomplish. ...I was unprepared for this situation. He makes sure to wait for some stupid amount of time like half an hour.

Naomi finally pulls up in front of him towards the end of the half hour. She looks angry.

Brilliant. I guess it didn't work out? Evidently, this is just another step of the process. "Hey."

"Get in."

This happens.

((As in he does it or))

He gets in the car.

She starts driving. "What exactly were you thinking?"

"Well, I did what was necessary, then people came in so I had to talk to them. It was a bit of a derailment, but I'm sure there was enough going on anyway."

"Did you at least destroy the cameras?"

"Yes. That was necessary." They probably have the information saved elsewhere, just like me. I don't actually get the point of that in the first place, on any level.

"Next time, put in the effort to come back to the car."

"Well, hard to do that if you get stopped by security. I was on a time limit."

"I’m getting quite tired of always having to carry you around. When are you going to grow up, Sam?"

"..." This is repetitive again.

"Do you understand how much you hurt your mother? I’ve done everything I can to raise you, but you just insist on being useless. Do you really hate me that much?"

"..."

"…You won’t even talk to me now. Is it my work? Are you upset I defend criminals? Are you somehow upset that I go through trouble to raise you, to keep you alive, to put food on your plate. Is that what upsets you, some uptight sense of morality? No… You don’t care, do you? You’re just lazy. You just… Can’t stand the idea that after every single thing I’ve done for you you’d have to do even a little bit back for me. …I can’t believe I wasted years on such a selfish person."

"..."

They arrive home. "Go to your room. I don’t want to see you again tonight."

"Thanks." He does this.

She starts crying as he leaves the car. Sam makes it to his room uninterrupted.

Sam just stays in his room and waits to see if anything else will happen for the next hour or so.

Nothing happens.

What now? Sam attempts to exit the house unless interrupted.

It’s late. He could simply sleep and avoid an inevitable fight with his mother.

((it was unclear if she ever went into the house))

She’s downstairs. "Your room. I told you."

How tiring. Doesn't seem like this trait is going to change ever, not that it matters. He does go back to his room, actually. All things considered, I doubt there is any activity I could accomplish to break anything tonight. I already did what I could against what was planned for today, and the best thing to do is to wait for the results. That's why nothing happened after I left through the front door, because nobody had any clue what to do there, including me or Ehn or anyone else. So, there's not much to say, currently. I just have to wait. Unless I'm being made to think that? I should consider this possibility, as I've always thought of multiple possibilities in the past. And I need to remember my current situation. The interesting events are elsewhere, not here, so perhaps I have to think from the perspective of a completely boring person? That's hard. What am I missing? Some factor or factors I'm currently ignoring or refusing to consider? If so, what could that be? ...I'm stuck. It's as I said. I can only wait now, and hope that what I have done will further my goals. As annoying as it is that I'm here in the first place. Talking hasn't seemed to help me. Maybe I should just not say anything to anyone unless they're the subway guy or something. Stop thinking about the many people in this town, even Mr. Kerloe and Bob Smith and so on. Which I've done a little of, but I need to pay more attention to my strategy if I'm going to do better than 'doing nothing'.

8:01 PM

Furthermore, aside from everything, I should still try to leave. The recent events have convinced me that it's possible. Perhaps I could've not stood in place for a long time, but that would be unlikely to lead to something. Still, in the end, there has to be some sequence of events which leads to me getting out of here. Or if not me, at least someone else who deserves to get out of here. ...And I'm not close to figuring out much more than yesterday. Who's really running everything? Some person has to be behind it. Not a fake cat. And either I leave, or I figure that out... In the end, I still have to try both, don't I? As much as is possible. And I've been a bit slow with this, waiting around all the time, but if there's one thing I learned from the people I talked to for that brief period of time... doing nothing, even in a place of devoid of anything interesting, won't be any good for me or anyone else. I may wait for the outcome of today's actions tomorrow morning, but after that, I'll have to find a way to some sort of result, and soon. ... ... ... It's hard to sleep in these circumstances. ...Waiting like this isn't easy. At least on previous nights, either everything was fine, or I knew exactly what to do the next day. I'm stuck with abstract goals this time. Have I had days like this before? Maybe I just don't remember them well enough in comparison to everything recently. Another side effect of all these issues associated with the 'narrative'. At the same time... I'm starting to think I don't wish I was in the situation I was in for however long it was before all of this started. Perhaps, even despite everything, I'm doing better than where I started. But based on our conversations, the truth is obvious; all of that was because I defied the path I was meant to take. If I did that, I'd undoubtedly be worse off.

8:02 PM

What am I saying? I already know all of this. I was right. The end. I just need to let these next few hours pass... ...Did I ever finish that last homework assignment? What sort of game would I have made if I had the chance? These questions comes to mind for some reason. Events which feel like quite a while ago, but are still actually in my memory, rather than the parts that aren't... But I can't stand to think that the parts I don't remember stopped being real. At the end of everything, I'm still the same person. A strange situation, isn't it? I wish I could just think about other people instead right now. Yet I don't feel like it. So I'm stuck in my own thoughts, as I've been in the past. ...I can't dwell too long. I might if I was in a better situation, but as is, thinking literally everything over would take too long. The issues that matter are left for me to decide tomorrow, and I should be ready to act early on that. So then... ... Sam likely struggles to sleep for an irrelevant lengthy amount of time before actually sleeping.

((End chapter))

Lelouch feels a sharp pain to the back of her head and loses consciousness. ((End session)) (edited)

((Saturday))

Lelouch woke up on the floor of the school hallway. Her head still hurts. Next to her is Jade, also unconscious. Sophie is standing in the hall holding the bottle of perfume.

"Eh..." Lelouch grumbles, taking a moment to compose herself as she scans the area. Noticing Sophie, she pushes herself off the ground. "Sophie?" She asks to clarify. "You shouldn't be here..."

She turns around. "Do you want me to hit you with that chair again?"

"Someone hit me with a..." Lelouch pauses for a moment before looking up. "It was you? You hit me? Why?"

"Why? Why do you think!?"

"..." Lelouch stays silent, still recovering from the blow.

"Because you're a stalker! You follow me everywhere and act like I owe you love! And... What is this now? You're brainwashing people to love you? To worship you? You're a fucking psychopath!"

Lelouch comes to her feet, looking at Sophie. "I'm not a stalker, I'm just making sure you're not in danger! And it's not brainwashing people to love me, it's making the world a better place. It's making them see the truth!"

"You don't know a goddamn thing about truth! Truth doesn't exist! It's just whatever people agree on! My dad taught me that. Because unlike you... He raised me to not be an idiot. You can't even be bothered to convince people yourself, you just need a cheat don't you?" She looked at the perfume bottle. "May I should just break this. Send you back to reality so you can understand just how much everyone hates you!"

Lelouch is confused as to why Sophie is going off on this tangent, before saying, "but all I'm doing is making the word a better place, for women like you to be safe!"

She bites her lip. "...I'd never feel safe with you."

"...Never? Why not?"

"Because you disgust me."

Lelouch stays silent, letting it sit in.

Sophie throws the perfume bottle.

"No, wait!" is Lelouch's reaction the minute she sees Sophie toss it. (edited)

A random student jumps out of a classroom and catches it.

Lelouch lets out a sigh of relief. "Sophie, that could've been dangerous!" She says, looking disappointed.

"How exactly? Would it have jeopardized your lunacy?" Sophie. The student gives it back to Lelouch.

"It would have jeopardized the world's future! Without it, the world will stay the same, corrupted piece of crap it is."

"The world is always going to be that! No one will ever be safe!" Sophie noticed Lelouch was holding it again, and ran off.

"Hey- wait- Sophie!" Lelouch initially goes to chase after her, put stops, turning around to check on Jade. "Jade? Jade, are you alright?" She shakes her gf.

Jade mumbles with a smile. "I can only be awoken by true love's kiss…"

Lelouch gives a sigh of relief before giggling. "Well, if it'll wake you up..." She says, before placing a kiss on Jade's lips.

Jade kisses her back.

"Are you good? Where's Sam? And his mother?"

"Ha… It’s like an indirect kiss." Jade gets up. "I don’t know."

"Did Sophie knock you out too? Do you think they were working together?"

3:40 PM

"No, that's impossible. Sophie was probably manipulated into doing it."

"Yes, of course. But even if she wasn’t… I believe in your plan. So never doubt it, okay?"

"I never did, cutie." Lelouch scans the area, pocketing the perfume. "So, where to now?" (edited)

"…I’m not sure. Jeff Johnner is dead. Our whole plan is gone now."

"Jeff Johnner's dead?" This is the first time Lelouch is hearing of this. "Hm... Who's second-in-command there? Maybe we can go for them?"

"I’m not sure. Everything was destroyed. There might not be anyone in charge right now."

"...Hm. We should probably get out of the school first, at least."

Jade walks out.

Lelouch also walks out.

A lot of people are leaving at this point. The parking lot is full of people.

"Hmm...there's a lot of people. Want to just head home? Maybe we can...go to a cafe on our way there?"

"Where is home now?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Don't want to head back to the apartment." Lelouch mumbles something, before suggesting, "hey, do you know where Maria is?"

"No, she was already gone when I found you."

"Hm..." Lelouch pauses, taking out her phone as she walks off the premises, expecting Jade to follow. "Maybe we should call to make sure she's safe?" (edited)

"Good idea!"

Lelouch calls Maria.

She doesn’t pick up.

"Hm." Lelouch tries again.

Still no answer.

"She's not picking up. Do you remember where she lives?"

Jade nods.

"Great! Lead the way, cutie."

Jade leads the way. ((End session))

((Is this a new chapter?)

((No, still 10. I was going to skip you to the next one but I realized it wouldn’t have worked))

(Kk)

((Saturday))

The house is surrounded by police.

"Oh, shit." Lelouch looks on, glancing to Jade before stepping towards the police. Is there an officer that's like, off to the side so that Lelouch can perfume him?

((Roll))

12))

Doesn’t seem like it.

"Hm. See anything Jade?"

She shakes her head. "We could just ask?"

"Maybe, but would they be willing to share info with us?"

"We just have to ask a girl cop." Jade walks towards a cop who is a girl.

Lelouch follows.

"What happened here?" Jade. "Sorry, we’re not revealing anything to the public right now." Cop. "But we know the people who live here. One of them is our…?" Jade looks to Lelouch to finish the sentence.

"Girlfriend." Lelouch smiles while saying this.

Jade looks disappointed. "Oh, well… The only woman here is way too old for you, so you have nothing to worry about." Cop.

"Oh, so no one called Maria Stanley is here?"

"Maria Stanley is one of the victims." Cop. "Victims of what?" Jade. "Her and her 2 sons were shot to death by her husband, Ouroboros Stanley." Cop.

"Oh, no that Maria Stanley doesn't matter, we're looking for Maria Stanley Junior."

"She’s not here." The cop shakes her head.

"Hm, damn. Well, thanks for your help!"

4:13 PM

"Oh, wait-"

4:13 PM

"Any idea on where Maria Stanley Jr. might be?"

She shook her head. "Useless." Jade turned around.

Lelouch didn't say anything just following Jade. "So, now what?"

"We could get a hotel room." She shrugged.

"Hm...yea, that sounds nice!" Lelouch smiles, heading to the nearest hotel using her natural GPS (wandering around until she finds one)

They eventually arrived at a very fancy looking hotel. Jade walked in and immediately sprayed a receptionist.

"Effective." Lelouch nods. "One suite please, your finest."

4:34 PM

"Free of charge."

"Follow every order Ms Lelouch gives you." The receptionist agrees and immediately gives them a card for the best suite.

Lelouch goes to the elevator, holding the door open for any other women going up.

Jade enters with her. No one else does.

Lelouch goes up to the corresponding floor.

"So… What next?"

"I...I'm not sure. Are there any good cafes around? Diners? Restaurants?"

"I meant… To help the world. Without that Johnner guy, we can’t just steal his platform."

((Saturday))

"I meant… To help the world. Without that Johnner guy, we can’t just steal his platform."

"Ah. Well...uh, can't we?"

2:33 PM

"Johnner's dead, but...there's got to be some remnant of his power."

"It literally blew up." Jade shakes her head as the elevator arrived at the right floor.

"Right." Lelouch notes, walking into the hallway.

Jade walks to the suite. "We’d need to exploit some other big system."

"What other big systems are there?" Lelouch uses the key to open the door, opening it for Jade.

Jade walks in looking around the fancy room. "Thank goodness they gave you what you deserve."

"Yea, it's a nice suite." Lelouch agrees, closing the door behind her and immediately heading for the bed.

Jade looked out of the window. "What about… The city itself?"

"...What?" Lelouch sits up, intrigued. (edited)

"We could go find the mayor and use him."

"The mayor?" Lelouch walks towards Jade, smiling, "that's a brilliant idea! I'd expect nothing less from a cutie like you."

"And he shouldn’t be hard to track down like Johnner." Jade smiles back at Lelouch.

"Exactly, he'll be much easier."

"Hm… But if we take over a whole city, the government will probably try to erase us on the spot."

"Ahh, true...we could try stealthily doing it? Take over people one by one, bide ourselves time and gain resources?"

"Or... We could make sure the whole world hears our message before they can do anything." Jade pointed to the headquarters of Free News Network, which were visible from the window. "If we hit both tomorrow... We might be able to claim this whole city in a single day."

"That...might just work!" Lelouch smiles.

4:57 PM

"You're so smart, you know that?"

"I learned from the best." Jade kisses her.

Lelouch kisses back, looking up into the (enter time of day) sky.

((Night))

5:00 PM

Jade finally pulls back after a while, and lays in bed. "We should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day." She smirked.

"Seems like we've got a big day ahead of us, cutie." Lelouch smiles, looking into Jade's eyes.

5:08 PM

Lelouch loes down beside Jade, and rests.

Lelouch falls asleep.

5:09 PM

((End chapter))

Ashley wakes up on a bench, but not a bus bench. A city bench. The sky clearly shows that it’s nighttime, far past when she set her alarm. Separated by a single metal bar of anti-homeless architecture is Aura, who seems to be slowly waking up too. The city of Avengard is in close walking distance, but they’re clearly in the slightly separated rich town of Shelk.

"...Wha...?" Oh. Oh, for fuck's sake. Of all times, this has to happen to her now? What even happened - did she sleepwalk off the bus into this random other city? No, that would be insane. So, what, did Aura bring her here? That's the only reasonable explanation, right? She rummages through the pockets of both her coat and backpack to make sure nothing's missing from either.

Her backpack is gone, as is anything in her pockets.

Aura definitely wouldn't have done that. Okay, don't panic, Ashley panics. Ehn should be able to tell me what happened, shouldn't it? Is this part of the 'surprise' it was talking about? If I get out of this, I'm never trusting that thing again. But I can't have a conversation with it when Aura's around. Shit, that's right – Aura's here too. I can't waste time trying to strategize around Ehn when I've got her to deal with. How am I going to get her to stay through this with me when it's already nighttime? I guess we couldn't go back home now even if we wanted to. Maybe Ehn did that on purpose and it'll give all my stuff back when I finish doing whatever it is it wants from me. I don't even have my knife, how am I going to- No, focus on Aura. Just focus on her for right now. She casts a cautious glance over at her friend. (edited)

"…Nyashley…?" (edited)

She tries to form some kind of excuse, but she can't think of anything to say. "Um. Do you... Do you still have all the stuff you brought here?" (edited)

She looks alarmed, quickly tapping her pockets. "…No. Did we get wobbed?"

Rather than responding, Ashley starts looking around. "Probably gonna need to ask for directions. Can you wait here for just a second while I find someone?"

"…It’s not that late, right? We’ll make it back in time?" Aura pleaded.

"Uh- yeah, absolutely." Absolutely not.

"…Alright." Aura turns away, looking betrayed.

When they're back home, Aura will finally be free, and it'll all have been worth it. She heads around the nearest corner out of Aura's sight and looks to see if anyone is nearby.

((Roll))

((Should I kill myself?))

3:53 PM

((1))

Ashley can’t find anyone, even as someone approaches her and stands right next to her. It takes this person talking to finally make Ashley realize she might be blind. "Ash…ley?" The voice sounds strangely familiar, but Ashley can’t place who’s it is immediately.

She focuses on staring in any other direction than at the person. Who's Ashley? She's not Ashley. She wouldn't have any reason to recognize anyone here.

"Great. Ignore me. Is that the trend for everyone now?"

There's no getting out of this, huh. Just for one day, I wish things could go right. One day is all I'm asking for. She awkwardly, slowly turns her head to face the one talking to her.

It's your old friend. "...It really is you. Huh."

Ashley's hands instinctively ball up into fists, which she quickly folds behind her back. No. This girl can't be a part of her life. She'd sooner leave everyone she knows behind and go die alone than admit any association. Luckily, that leaves her with pretty much only one option. "Sorry, I think you might be confusing me with somebody else?"

"Do you seriously think I'm going to fall for that?"

If she runs away here, she doesn't know if she'll make it back to Aura. She'd definitely have run away by now if not for the possibility that losing Aura could mean losing the chance to solve any of her problems. And, as much as she wants to, she can't just outright attack someone in the middle of a city. Reluctantly, a situation like this forces her to acknowledge how useful that invisibility jacket would've been. The only thing she can do is try to keep up the act and hope Sophie gets the message. If worse comes to worst, she could try to head back to Aura and yell at her to run, but being caught in any number of ways isn't something she wants to risk... yet. "Uh, I'm not sure what you mean." Her visible discomfort isn't something she even needs to fake. "I don't know you."

"Oh, is that what this is? Am I too far below you now? Did you graduate from the bottom rung to the top and now poor little Sophie's too fucking meaningless for you? I see how it is, you stuck up fucking prick." She rolls her eyes. "I bet you got the biggest laugh out of ditching us, huh? Did you come back to visit us like it's a goddamn a zoo? Keep dreaming, bitch. Maybe I didn't get to run off like I'm better than everyone else but I'll still never consider you as anything but the worst of us. Did you think we'd like you, sitting off in the corner nodding your head at what everyone else did while you pretended you were hot shit just 'cause we gave you the bare minimum of our attention? You're such a fucking creep, Ashley. God... Fuck you. What gave you the right to be the lucky one?" She kicks the ground.

Ashley puts on a smile so strained that it barely fits the definition of one. "I didn't want to come here in the slightest. You're the one who came up to me. I'm not going to pretend to like you, and you're obviously not interested in doing so for me, so maybe you could just leave me alone?" She can't just outright attack someone in the middle of a city. (edited)

"Where'd all that I'm not Ashley shit go, huh? What, are you gonna claim you're her evil twin Washley?" She speaks condescendingly.

"So if I tell you I'd like you to f-fuck off, that means I must know you? Hm, everything doesn't really revolve around you like that where I'm from…" (edited)

"...You're even more insufferable than before." She scoffed. "Fine then, who are you, huh?"

"I'm- My name's Alex." Why him? I mean, I guess it works.

"Alex? Really? That's barely different from your real name. Figures you don't know how to make a fake name." Sophie. Aura approached them. "Did you find the diwections yet?"

'Alex' shivers even just seeing these two in the vicinity of each other. Fuck, stay calm. She won't find out unless you freak out about it. "Yeah. I mean- Yeah, I just found someone to ask." She turns to Sophie. "You know how to get to Avengard from here? Like, by walking."

"...Is she using owo speak? What the fuck?" Sophie stares at her in disgust. "It's cute and it's me!" Aura speaks in owo speak again, defensively. "Am I having a nightmare? What the fuck? Did Lelouch get to her or something? Why is she...? Why is she talking like someone's fucking anime waifu?" She says that last word with a deep personal hatred.

"Hey." Ashley waves her hand in front of Sophie's face to get her attention back. "Do you know how to get to Avengard from here. Complain about whatever later." She phrases this more as a demand than a question.

"You’re just… You’re just okay with this?" Sophie motions to Aura. "Seriously?" "Cawn’t I juwst be mysewf?" It’s getting sort of tough to parse what Aura is saying through how thick the owo speak is. "No one’s 'self' is talking like that! That’s how people with 0 social skills beg for approval from people with even less. And if that were somehow the core of your sense of self, that’d be even more disturbing! Like looking in a funhouse mirror where the other side is completely flat and inhuman. Talk like a normal person." Sophie. "Witewawwy 1984." Maybe. This one is impossible for anyone to actually understand except Aura.

"Okay, look, just- Who cares? This isn't your problem. I can go ask anyone else. Are you actually petty enough to not save me the two minutes it would take to do that?" You could've chosen to stop talking to her this whole time. She ignores this thought. (edited)

"How do you not care? You hang around with a deranged freak of nature, enable her, and I’m the weird one for questioning it?" Sophie.

"I guess you are. Alright, c'mon, Aura. We have better things to do than listen to this all day. Let's go find someone else to ask." The words come out extra disdainfully, like she's just somehow won an argument by saying this.

Aura smiles at Ashley. "Oh, I get it. You’re a freak like her. That’s how you get to pretend you’re so important, by positioning yourself next to the most disgusting person you can find. I bet that act's just to prop you up, huh? So pathetic." Sophie.

Ashley extends a hand behind her back to flip Sophie off as she turns and walks to find the next person likely to give them directions.

Aura follows Ashley. "I’ve done my own things to improve, you know!?" Sophie called out weakly behind them.

For half a second, she almost considers turning around – just to shut Sophie down again with something like 'I doubt it' or to ask her why she even cares about proving this. But that comment has no significance to 'Alex'. After all, Alex doesn't know her. Ashley just resumes looking for the next person she could talk to.

"You like the way I talk, right Nyashley?" Aura.

"Yeah!" Honestly, she hadn't really thought about it before. Obviously it doesn't bother her, but she wouldn't go out of her way to say she likes it either. It's just how Aura is. "It's charming, I think."

"Yay! I heawd evewyone wikes it, especiawwy in that game you wike." Aura smiles. They arrive in Avengard. It wasn’t hard to get to, they did not in fact need directions.

Ehn did show up when I was at home with mom and dad, so theoretically, it should've been able to tell me what's going on this entire time. Is there a reason it hasn't been able to, or is it just screwing with me? If it doesn't show up soon, I'll have come here for nothing. I need to find some place to call for it and not seem like a total lunatic. "Faster than I expected," Ashley mutters to herself as she searches her surroundings. "Hey, you mind waiting here again while I... find a place to use the bathroom?" (edited)

"Oh, sure." Aura waits.

She walks around in search of the first place without anybody nearby to hear her.

Ashley finds an empty alley.

She really wishes she still had that knife. "Ehn, are you here?" she quietly calls out into the emptiness.

No response.

A pit starts to form in her stomach. "Ehn? Hello??" She says its name again, much more loudly and clearly.

No response.

She barely stops herself from screaming. Why the fuck did that thing tell her to come here if it wasn't going to give her anything? Did it really just send her out here to fuck with her?? The second she comes back from Avengard empty-handed, it's not just over for Aura – it's probably over for her too. What the hell is she supposed to do to get Ehn to show up? Her backpack didn't even have enough in it to run away with if she still had it. That's probably long gone by now... Is she never going to get her phone back, then? Aaaaagggh, don't think about that. There has to be something she can do. Back in Other Town, Ehn couldn't leave until she got out of the forest since that wasn't 'how it worked', so does it have to do with proximity? ...Proximity to what, though? It might be about the sheer number of people to overhear in a city like this, but then how would Sam be in regular contact with it in this crowded city? Plus, it told me it'd let me know what to do once I got there, so it must've been confident in being able to talk to me even in a place with a lot of people. Then, is it about whether I'm with Aura, since that's what it needed to happen for this whole Avengard idea to work? Should I just straight-up try to call it in front of her? Coming off as a lunatic is probably better than accomplishing nothing. After carefully convincing herself to not bang her head into the wall, Ashley decides to walk back in Aura's direction.

"Welcome back!" Aura is still there.

She nods. Then, she opens her mouth to explain what she's about to do. ...She closes her mouth again. I am never getting used to this. No amount of Ehn showing up could ever make her accustomed to explaining that she has superpowers in real life without instinctively knowing she'll come off as completely delusional. Even if it's Aura, who's more inclined to playing pretend than anyone else she knows, she could never get herself to risk that. She tries to take a deep breath and think of how to spin this.

"So… Where are we going, Nyashley?"

"Um- Before that... It wouldn't bother you either if I did something out of nowhere like... roleplaying, or playing pretend, right?"

"…Sure?" She seems confused.

Ashley takes another deep breath and looks anywhere other than at Aura. "Ehn, are you listening? Can you come out now?"

No response.

The silence is like needles digging into her skin. "Uh... haha... Anyways..." She vaguely gestures towards where she remembers her school being. "We're heading that way." (edited)

"Okay..." Aura follows.

11:58 PM

The school they arrive at is empty. Not simply because it's late, but because it's been closed down.

"Huh." She stares at the school. Honestly, taking her here was probably a bad idea. Even if nobody's around anymore... just seeing this place makes me feel sick. And that's before thinking about how Aura could find out everything that happened here. But I don't have anywhere else to go. Sigh. If we're gonna get any answers here, one night in this old place won't kill us any more than the Nielsens will. Probably. Ashley nods in the direction of the front entrance. "C'mon, let's head in."

"Isn't it... Creepy?"

"Haha, I guess so... But, really, this place does mean a lot to me."

"Oh… okay." She said nervously, before stepping inside.

Ashley walks in behind Aura, compulsively scanning the place for anything that might tie back to her. Not that she can see very well in this lighting, but still.

((Roll))

((17!!))

Ashley finds the class photos from her last year there.

Well, it's not like she's doing anything too incriminating in them, right? She's probably just standing around, with no immediately visible association with those people.

She is indeed just standing next to Sophie and a few other kids.

Alright, no need to prevent Aura from seeing those. She decides to kind of just intensely stare at her this entire time anyways.

Aura looks at the pictures. "You seem happy here… Why did you come to our town?"

"Ah! Haha, that? Well... I was just smiling for the pictures. You wouldn't be able to tell, but I wasn't actually happy here at all." She shrugs exaggeratedly. "A lot of my time here was like that, really... Putting on a smile, when I really hated it deep down." Fuck you. No it wasn't.

"Oh… I can understand that. You must’ve been really brave, huh?"

"Heh, yeah, I guess I was." God. Fuck you fuck you fuck you. Kill yourself. "When I was here… there was this awful group of kids. They didn't go out of their way to bully anyone or anything, but they were always saying these really nasty, hateful things. They were pretty clearly bigoted in a lot of ways." Yeah, you'd know, wouldn't you. Why are you even telling her this? What good does it do you? She clearly already thinks you're such an upstanding and honest person anyways. "I obviously didn't hang around them myself, but I used to… have a friend who did. Red flag, I know, but I used to think she wasn't as bad as them." Uh huh. "I never saw her acting out the way they did, only chasing after their approval, and I thought it made her different from them. 'She's not doing anything wrong,' I told myself. 'All she wants is to make a few friends, and she just happened to pick the wrong people.' I used to think I could fix her, ahaha." You didn't even TRY to distinguish yourself from them. Even in the beginning, it wasn't some kind of honest mistake. You knew what you were doing, and you took pleasure in doing it, you lying sack of shit. "So I kept my faith in her. Even as she kept nodding her head along with the terrible stuff they'd say, I didn't give up talking to her, because I thought eventually she'd just realize and turn herself around." It's not even like you just passively agreed with them. That'd be one thing. You went out of your fucking way to back them up on things, and you spouted the same horrible fucking bullshit they did because you ENJOYED it, not because anyone was telling you to. This disgusting fucking victim fantasy aside, even your 'friend' here would've been a better person than you in this situation. Think about that, huh? You literally won't even tell her what you did from your hypothetical observer's position because you're too much of a selfish fucking coward. All of this has to be about you, it all has to fit into your pretty perfect image, or else they'd realize how much you deserve to kill yourself as much as you already know you do. You should've gone through with it back then, just before you were about to move away. It would've been a proper ending. Instead you ran away to that quiet little town and wormed your way into a second chance out of the kindness of others' hearts. And you've abused that kindness over and over again. Autumn was right about you: you really did move there just to poison them all and drag them down with you. It's all you ever do. It'd be too good for you to leave this place alive a second time. But you'll get away with it, like you always do, because you're Ashley Laurier. "...And... eventually I realized I just couldn't. Every time I'd try to talk her out of it, she'd shut me down, and I eventually had to understand that- that it was her choice to be with those people. There was no way she didn't know the kind of people they were, and she still decided to stick with them, never so much as branching out to any other, nicer kids. I learned... that clinging to bad people just makes you a bad person y-yourself." Ashley notices her voice wavering. Is she about to cry? Really? She rubs at her eyes, still staring at the class picture. "My mental health got pretty horrible by the end of middle school. I was getting pulled out of classes by the teachers, I couldn't deal with it all, I just... I thought there was no hope for the rest of my life." "...But then we decided to move. And it was really weird, and really, really f-fucking scary... And I met you, and Autumn. And you two showed me I could still have friends like a normal person... and live like a normal person... and love like a normal person. So..... th-thanks, I guess..." That little speech deserved an acting award. Bravo, truly. So convincing, and so sincere. She's run out of things to say. (edited)

Aura hugs Ashley. "I forgive you."

"Y-Yeah. ...I mean- Thanks..." Ashley stands there. You tell yourself you don't deserve hugs like this so many times that it's not even original anymore. All you have is your masturbatory self-pity. Just get it over with.

"So… How do we go back now?"

"Mmm…" She pretends to think. "We can't walk back, that's for sure. I really don't want to be out at night in this place with nothing on me. Plus, we don't even have our phones for directions… I think our best bet is to spend the night here and ask someone for money for a ride home tomorrow." Honestly, maybe there's a silver lining to losing our stuff. It at least lets me buy more time.

"But… What about mom?"

"We'll figure out a way to deal with it. I mean, even if we headed back now, we wouldn't make it home in time for there to not be any problems. Better to at least make it back there safely after we've figured out what to do."

Aura starts to cry a bit. "…O-Okay."

She continues to stand motionlessly, not sure whether to hug her or leave her alone. "Hey... It's gonna be okay. I wouldn't have gotten us into this if I didn't think I could get us out."

Aura sat down, leaning against a wall. "She didn’t want me in the first place, so… It’s not… It’s not her fault, right? I just…" She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "I just wish I was someone she could love."

"Of course it's her fault!" Ashley decides to sit down beside her. "Whether she wanted you or not, it's no excuse for the type of things she does to you. Loving someone means you support them to be the best version of themself, not punish them for what you hate about them. All I've ever seen your mom do is take out her anger on you. You deserve someone better than that."

"Could that… be you?" She whispered.

Ashley feels her body tingle with discomfort. "Um- I mean, yeah, for sure! I- I love all my besties, haha." She's totally confessing to me, right? Am I turning her down?? I don't know how to handle this, I don't want to make her feel bad… "Just- Just because I already have a future girlfriend doesn't mean I'll love you any less for it." Wow, amazing job. Very subtle. (edited)

"…" Aura doesn’t respond.

"…I'm… sorry. I don't know how to-…" She sighs again. "I really do care about you, Aura. I want to help you in any way I can, because you do deserve people who look out for you and treat you with love and respect. I'm sure if you're looking for a girlfriend, you'll still find someone who really appreciates and understands you." She swallows. "Honestly, I mean, I genuinely try my best, but… you can do a lot better than me, I'm sure." "But if I care about you, that means I can't lie to you. I'm not gonna lead you on with a false hope just to hurt you even more later. That's why I have to be honest that my heart belongs to Autumn."

Aura is asleep.

Ah. Her heart sinks, even as she feels the weight of the conversation lift off her shoulders. She's sure she can reassure Aura in the morning anyways, so it's not a big deal... but it still feels wrong. I'm going to find a way to fix this tomorrow, or I'm never making it back to Autumn again. No, not just her. I won't see anyone I love ever again, because I'll kill myself here. That's my promise on Aura's behalf. Ashley decides to spend the night blankly staring at the walls of her old school until she loses consciousness.

((End chapter))

((I'll start in a bit I'm just doing something really quick))

Bob wakes up the next morning.

Bob Gets out of bed.

Grobber's bed is still empty. People are heading towards the cafeteria right now.

Bob goes go the cafeteria.

IO stands behind him. "JD, there you are!" LM pulls him back. "Stop."

Bob looks behind him.

It's just those 2.

Bob continues walking to get cafeteria food.

This succeeds.

Bob sits down and eats the food.

IO tries to approach him again, but Little Man keeps him away.

Bob looks behind confused.

Little Man nods to him.

Bob gets back to eating.

Bob successfully finishes breakfast.

Bob is on his way to leave.

He succeeds.

Bob starts to walk back to his room as he cannot think of anything else to do right now.

No one visits him.

Bob rests for a bit.

Eventually Sarah enters the room. "Did you find anything?"

"IO kept trying to get my attention and LM kept preventing him but that's all i was able to notice."

"No, I meant… To escape!"

"I wasn't able to figure anything out"

"...Great. I have an idea, but I'll need your help to check it."

"Whats the idea?"

"I need to get into the warden's office... Without anyone noticing."

((sorry I need to go now))

((Oh uh okay))

((Saturday))

"I need to get into the warden's office... Without anyone noticing."

"How are we supposed to do that?!"

"I don’t know… You’re good at distractions though, right?"

"Yeah I can try!"

"How long?"

"Maybe 9 minutes!"

"That’s… Okay." She sighs.

"When do you want to do the plan?!"

"Now. The faster we’re out of here, the better."

Bob goes out to distract anyone that would be on the way

((What is he doing specifically))

"Someone died!!!!!!!!!!!"

"What? Where?" Random guard. (edited)

"I'll show you!"

2:26 PM

Bob then walks them as far away as possible

"There’s nothing here."

"Someone must of moved the body!"

"Are you sure you saw one?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, I’ll go get the warden." The guard leaves.

Bob waits

The warden and several guards return. "Did you see who it was?"

"The face was too damaged to tell!"

"Was it a prisoner or a guard?"

"A prisoner!"

"What was their hair colour?"

"Bald!"

"Bald?"

"Bald!"

"Yes, I heard you."

"You asked!"

"Round up the bald prisoners, check who’s missing."

((I don't think I have much longer for today until I have to go so we can continue next Saturday))

((Okay))

((Saturday))

"Round up the bald prisoners, check who’s missing."

Bob sneaks back to his Cell since the distraction is complete

After a bit, Sarah returns to his cell as well.

"Did it work?"

"Yeah… I had a look at the prison's blueprints."

"Good!"

"I figured out a path out of here. But we'll only be able to go when the guards are less alert. For now... You can say your goodbyes, if you have anyone to say them to."

"I don't have anyone here I need to say bye to!"

"Really? I thought you'd started making friends with these lunatics."

"Not really!"

"I guess you did put one in the infirmary." She shrugged. "It's hard to tell with you."

"I'm going to rest until the guards are less alert so I'm awake enough to escape!"

"...If I may." Clyde entered the cell. "...Who are you?" Sarah.

"How did you get in here?!"

"I walked." Clyde. "Oh god, this guy is already insufferable." Sarah. "I assure you, I'm quite sufferable." Clyde.

"What do you want?"

"I wish to convince you not to leave." Clyde. "What?" Sarah. "You may leave. Just not Nathan." Clyde.

"Why?!"

"It's simple. You are a danger to the world. Your brain is broken, spreading falsehood after falsehood with no coherence or logic within. You are a dangerous virus of lunacy who has been quarantined here. Do not endanger the world by leaving." Clyde.

"If I stay then I am endangering the prison therefore endangering the world by association of anyone else who gets out!"

"Then kill yourself." Clyde. "Stop it!" Sarah. "Oh, so he has infected you too? Do you truly believe this man deserves to be free? That he won’t poison the world? He’s broken!" Clyde. Sarah punched him.

"What do I do?!"

Sarah grabs Clyde by the collar. "It must be so easy being you, huh? Never have to think about yourself. You just tell everyone else what to do. Is it too hard for you to imagine a world where someone’s different from you? People who don’t like you should just kill themselves? Do you know what scares me?" Sarah. Clyde doesn’t answer. "I’m terrified that someone like you… Thinks we’re anything alike. I’d like to be the only person like me in the world. But if I’ve gotta be someone else… I’d like it to be someone who tries to help someone other than himself." Sarah. "I know what he’s like! I created him!" Clyde. "And what gives a father the right to kill his son? What gives a father the right to decide ANYTHING!? Oh, you broke him… So he owes you the right to break him even more!? Fuck you." Sarah. "He’s not normal!" Clyde. "And what is normal, huh? Telling people to kill themselves for being different? Telling them they deserve to be locked away just because they don’t know how to do everything right? I’ve… Shot people before. I didn’t even feel sorry at all. I just thought… Well, at least they’re not dead. But maybe I really did kill Jackson Day in the long run! And I still hugged him as he died as if it wasn’t my fault! I’ve hurt plenty of other people too, and I felt no remorse? Is that normal? Is a normal person just someone who slots into whatever makes you comfortable, regardless of what makes you comfortable? Because if I’m normal… Then maybe it’s us normal people who should die. Instead of the guy who wants to help others." Sarah threw Clyde out of the cell. Then she got down on her knees and started to cry.

Bob decides to wait

Clyde runs off like a coward. Sarah continues to cry.

Bob waits more

Sarah mumbles pathetically. "Could you… Hug me?"

Bob hugs her as requested

She hugs him back and continues to cry. "…I’m sorry. I’m so… So… So sorry. You have every right to want me dead, you know?"

"I don't want you dead" (edited)

"Why… not?"

"Because you're the only one that doesn't get close to me to try to manipulate me."

"…" She wiped her eyes. "Sorry… That was weird. I don’t even know that guy. I must… I don’t know. I’ll go rest too."

"Bye" (edited)

"…Yeah." Sarah got up and left.

((I'm gonna go now)) (edited)

((Alright bye))

((Saturday))

Bob is alone in his cell.

Bob lays down in his cell again.

After a while, Sarah returns. "Are you ready?"

"Yes I am!" (edited)

"Follow me." Sarah leads the way.

Bob follows her.

She stops in an obscure corner of the prison. "Do you see that vent up there?" She points to a vent opening in the ceiling. "I need you to lift me up."

"Okay I'll do that!"

2:17 PM

Bob lifts her up.

((Roll))

((17))

Bob successfully lifts her up into the vent. She holds out her arms. "Now hold on, I’ll pull you up too."

"Okay!"

2:23 PM

Bob grabs onto her arms.

She pulls him up into the vent and starts to crawl through it. "Be quiet. No one should suspect we’re up here."

Bob nods.

"Just follow me." Sarah continues to lead him through the vents.

Bob follows her.

Eventually, she drops down out of the vent.

Bob drops out afterwards.

They’re in the guard's locker rooms. She starts picking the lock on one of the lockers.

Bob waits silently to not risk anyone hearing them. (edited)

She opens the locker and takes out a guard uniform. She tosses it to Bob. "Put this on." (edited)

Bob puts it on.

She unlocks another locker and puts on the uniform from that one. "And now… We just walk out."

Bob nods and follows her out.

"Try not to show your face to anyone. You’re memorable." She whispered this to him.

Bob nods and does his best to hide his face.

Sarah walks right to the main gate, giving people occasional nods and waves to appear casual.

Bob follows her just looking straight ahead.

"Hey!" A guard calls out to them. Sarah freezes and then slowly turns around. "…Yes?"

Bob stops but doesn't turn around.

"Are you new here? You have to put those back when you finish your shift." Guard. "Oh, we’ll be right back. We’re just going on a break." Sarah.

Bob continues to follow her after this is done.

She walks directly through the front door. "Oh my god… Did we just-?" The alarm rings out.

"We failed?!"

"What the hell? Ugh… Run!" Sarah dashes away.

Bob runs.

((Roll))

((2))

Bob is tackled from behind as he runs away. He falls to the pavement.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!" (edited)

"Got you." It’s SM.

"Let me go!"

"And why would I do that…?" SM spoke menacingly. More footsteps approach.

Bob tries to struggle out.

((Roll))

((9))

Bob cannot escape, but SM gets off regardless and holds their hands up innocently. There are 3 guards around them now.

((I'm gonna go now))

((Alright see ya))

((Saturday))

Bob cannot escape, but SM gets off regardless and holds their hands up innocently. There are 3 guards around them now.

((Sorry I forgot I can continue now if that's ok))

((Yeah))

Bob tries to shove through the guards to escape.

((Roll))

((20))

One of the guards punches SM in the face as Bob dashes through them. They start shooting at him.

"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (edited)

3:34 PM

Bob continues running.

Bob is hit in the leg, and falls to the ground. The guards catch up.

Bob gets up immediately.

Both guards take out their guns. One of them aims it at Bob. The other, who lifts up her head enough to be recognized as Sarah, aims the gun at the guard.

"Thanks!!!!"

The guard turns around suspiciously, and Sarah just continues to hold the gun. Rather than shooting, her hand is trembling.

Bob just stands there to wait for an opening for him to do anything.

"Really?" The guard aims his gun at Sarah. "If you’re going to pull this sort of thing… At least bother having the determination to carry it out." Gunshot Blood sprayed from the guard's body directly onto Bob. Sarah slowly stumbled backwards in shock, dropping her smoking gun. She stared at it. "…What?" And then she passed out.

Bob carries her and runs due to her being unconscious.

((Roll))

((11))

Bob cannot lift Sarah.

Bob tries to wake Sarah up.

((Roll))

((17))

Sarah starts mumbling something about not being real and doesn’t move.

"We need to go I can't let your life get worse!"

She starts laughing uncomfortably. “I’m not… I’m not here right now."

"What do I do?!"

4:38 PM

"Just get up! Please!"

"I just... I just killed someone..."

"It's my fault! If I didn't agree to escape none of that would of happened!"

"..." Sarah took a deep breath. "So you... You killed him for me, right? I never... I never hurt anyone."

"Yes!"

"That's... Nice. Thanks... Bro." Sarah mutters. Bob is hit in the back of the head and loses consciousness. ((End chapter))